F 
^•54 




by the Sea. 



ff 



FACT 




AIVID 



No. 2. 



FIGUREIS 



ABOUT 



V 



/ 



NORFOL-K, VA 



ISSUeO SV THE 



CHAMBER OF COM MERGE 



Class 




Book hl^fi i3. 



The City by the Sea. 
FACTS 



AND 



FIGURES 



ABOUT 



NORFOLK 
No. 2. 



Issued by the Chamber of Commerce. 



NORFOLK, VA, 



z^ 






Chamber ok Comivierce, 

ISIORF"OI_K, VA. 



Organized Deoeniber 2Txh, 1888. 



Past Officers of the Board. 



1890 



1891 



1889. 
President, 
I St Vice-President, 
2d Vice-President, 
Treasurer, 
Secretary and Superintendent, 

President, 

I St Vice-President, 

2d Vice-President, 

Treasurer, 

Secretary and Superintendent, 

President, 

ist Vice-President, . 

2d Vice-President, 

Treasurer, 

Secretary and Superintendent, 

President, 

1st Vice-President, . 

2d Vice-President, 

Treasurer, 

Secretary and Superintendent, 

Officers and Board 
President, .... 
I St Vice-President, 
2d Vice-President, . 
Treasurer, 
Secretary and Superintendent, 



1892. 



R. A. DoBiE, 
H. Hodges, 
A. Myers, 
John L. Roper, 
W. T. Walke, 

Clerk, 



board. 

O. E. Edwards 
W. Lane Kelly, 
Barton Myers 
R. W. Stirfs, 
R. H. Wright 



William Lamb 

J. J. Phillips 

James T. Borum 

Washington Taylor 

Samuel R. Borum 



William Lamb 

. James T. Borum 

H. Hodges 

Washington Taylor 

Samuel R. Borum 

J. W. Perry 

H. Hodges 

. Geo W. Taylor 

Washington Taylor 

Samuel R. Borum 

. H. Hodges 

Geo. W. Taylor 

E. B. Merritt 

' Washington Taylor 

Samuel R. Borum 

FOR 1893. 

William Lamb 

N. M. Osborne 

. T. F. Rogers 

Washington Taylor 

Samuel R. Borum 



M. Glennan, 
B. P. Loyall, 
J. W. McCarrick, 
M. Umstadter, 
J. P. Williams, 



Kemper J. Hankins. 



0£C & fonft 



*rHB CIXY BY XHK SBA. 



Away back in the year 1607, on the 26th day of April, the foot 
of the first Englishman made its imprint on the sands at Cape 
Henry, one of the guardian capes of the Chesapeake. 

This man was Cap. John Smith, who, with his companions, 
landed there and unsealed and examined their instructions, given 
them by King James, then on the throne of England. 

About fifteen days thereafter the same party landed at James- 
town, about fifty miles up the James river, and the first permanent 
English settlement was begun in America. 

Time passed, and the first political divisions, of which we have 
authentic record, was the division of the eastern portion of Vir- 
ginia into eight shires, corresponding to counties. 

THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK 

was one of the early political divisions, named from a county of 
the same name in England. 

In the year 1705 Norfolk was incorporated as a town. It had 
quite an extended existence prior to this date, but its official life 
dates from this last-named date. 

It is located at the jun6lion of the two branches of the Eliza- 
beth river, which, uniting, forms the harbor of Norfolk, than 
which there is no finer or safer one in America. This inner 
harbor opens out, by means of the Elizabeth river, into 

HAMPTON ROADS, 

a distance of three miles away. It is doubtful if this latter 
harbor (Hampton Roads) has its equal either in the Old or the 
New World. 

As regards the depth of water, twenty -eight feet can be car- 
ried into and on through our inner harbor, and thirty feet can 
be carried up to Lambert's Point, the coahng station of the 
Norfolk & Western R. R., while in Hampton Roads the water 
reaches as high as fifty to sixty feet in depth. 

In regard to Norfolk and surrounding country, Capt. John 
Smith, at a very early day, puts himself on record in these 
words : 



rv. 

■*' Heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for 
man's habitation. " 

Later on we have the 

TESTIMONY OF COMMODORE MAURY, 

that noted geographer of the seas, who says : " Naturally, and 
both in a geographical and military point of view, Norfolk, with 
Hampton Roads, at the mouth of the Chesapeake bay, as its 
lower harbor, and San Francisco, inside of the Golden Gate, 
in California, occupy — one on the Pacific, the other on the 
Atlantic — the most important maritime positions that lie within 
the domains of the United States. Each holds the commanding 
point on its sea front ; each has the finest harbor on its coast, 
and each with the most convenient ingress and egress for ships 
— each as safe from wind and wave as shelter can make them. 
Nor is access to either ever interrupted by the frosts of winter. 
In the harbors of each there is room to berth, not only all 
the ships of commerce, but the navies of the world also." 

These advantages of deep water and safe harbor, and the near 
proximity of the same to the open sea, (only fifteen miles) has 
resulted in the rapid development of the commerce of this port. 

POPULATION OF NORFOLK 

proper will reach 45,000, while on the entire harbors there is fully 
So,ooo inhabitants. The city is so located as to fall the natural 
heir to the trade of Eastern North Carolina, and Virginia — a 
territory of fully 50,000 square miles. In this immense field, 
Norfolk has the commercial supremacy, to such an extent as 
to make her almost sole heir. 



Trade Area. — The local wholesale and retail trade of Norfolk 
has a territory embracing, besides the immediate vicinity, the entire 
tidewater se6lions of Virginia and the eastern portion of North Car- 
olina, the most fertile region of the State in which cotton is largely 
cultivated. Several branches of trade have a much larger scope, 
and extends to several other Southern and Southwestern States. 

The U. S. Navy Yard. — There is located here one of the 
largest navy yards of the Government, which employs hundreds of 
mechanics and laborers. The yard requires immense quantities of 
supplies and material which, as a rule, are purchased here. 



V. 

XORFOI^K AN^U VICIXIXY II.I.USTRAXEt>, 



The reader will find in this pamphlet an accurately - drawn 
map, showing Norfolk, its nearness to the ocean and the location 
of several growing towns and villages, improving and expanding 
in trade and population in proportion to the enterprise, public 
spirit and broad-mindedness of their several inhabitants. 

Within five to ten years they have each felt the benefit of 
Norfolk's progress, and by a large majority are taking advantage 
of it. 

From these thrifty suburbs our merchants derive a large busi- 
ness, and the ferries and roads which conne(5t them with Norfolk 
realize also a goodly share of the general prosperity. 

No city on the Atlantic coast embraces as many miles of deep 
salt water frontage, with equal beach, boating and bathing 
facilities. 

To Sewell's Point a frontage of nine miles is presented ; then 
around Willoughby Spit to Ocean View, eight miles ; to Lynn- 
haven bay, 12 miles ; to cape Henry, 20 miles ; and to Virginia 
Beach, 18 miles distant from Norfolk city. 

At Ocean View and Virginia Beach there are Hotels, but 
there is ample room and patronage for a dozen more, fronting all 
of them, on Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic 
Ocean, — surely, here is abundant opportunity for good investments, 
and sure profits. 



IVHBRH TO FIND DEEP 'WATER. 



Col. Wm. P. Craighill, U. S. A., and engineer in charge of 
Norfolk harbor improvements, gives, in his ofiicial report for 
1889, the following depth of water and channel-way, from Hamp- 
ton Roads to the wharves at Norfolk, Va., with no bars to 
impede in any weather : — 

FEET MIN. FEET MAX. 

The channel-way from the Hampton \ 

Roads to Lambert's Point \ 26 45 

From Lambert's Point to Fort Nor- ) 

folk.. i 25 31 

From Fort Norfolk to the wharves at ) 
Norfolk f 28 40 

Width of channel from Hampton) 
Roads to Norfolk f 500 700 



V!. 



TRADE FIGURES IN 1892 COMPARED WITH 1888. 



LUMBER 



Article 



Lumber, feet. . 
Logs, feet . . . . 

Staves 

Shingles 

Railroad Ties. 



1888 



138,625,263 

105,637,554 

5,843,966 

30,714,540 

185,173 



1892 



Increase 



293,725,122 

114,386,459 

8,798,917 

47,790,696 

631,425 



112 per cent. 

8 " " 

52 '♦ " 

55 " " 

241 " " 



GRAIN, ETC. 



Hay, tons 

Corn, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Meal, bushels 

Rough Rice, bushels 

Bran, bushels 

Rye, busbels 

Wheat, bushels 

Peanuts, bags— four bushels each. 



7,709 
736,858 
247,970 
183,924 

6,168 
103,442 

1,181 
138,338 
289,162 



14,017 

1,206,691 

424,543 

313,388 

37,434 
169,182 
124,500 
552,101 
404,514 



82 per cent. 

64 " 

71 " 

70 " 

513 " 

64 '* 

955 " 

300 " 

40 " 



GROCERIES 



Coffee, bags.. . 
Sugar, barrels 
Cheese, boxes. 
Butter, tubs . . 
Flour, barrels. 
Flour, bags . . 



10,024 
30,154 
14,168 
20,185 
181,798 
2,300 



10,807 
49,277 
22,108 
23,413 

228,721 



559 

19,123 

7,940 

3,228 

46,923 



bags 

barrels 

boxes 

tubs 

barrels 



381,583,379,283 bags 



PROVISIONS 



Pork, barrels . 
Fish, packages 

Meat, lbs 

Lard, R)s 




13,852 

47,617 

19,779,783 

3,405,620 



2,773 bbls. 
23,678 pkgs. 
5,960,708 lbs. 



MISCELLANEOUS 



Cotton-Seed Oil, barrels. . . 
" Meal, bushels 

Naval Stores, barrels 

Horses, head 

Cattle, head 

Coal, tons 

Pig Iron, tons 

Coke, tons 



5,799 

61,539 

14,198 

922 

2,949 

938,369 

38,545 

168 



31,560 

91,657 

55,906 

3,364 

11,635 

1,802,385 

127,455 

4,159 



25,761 barrels 
30,127 bushels 
41,708 barrels 

2,442 head 

8,686 " 
100 per cent. 
231 " " 



The above figures give the increase for four years only in a few 
lines of business. The trade in dry goods, drugs, boots and shoes, 



VII. 

hardware, clothing, milling supplies, etc., is very large and con- 
stantly increasing, yet there is room for enterprising houses in 
all these lines, if adive effort is made to widen the territory 
within easy reach. 

Railroad and water transportation is abundant, and almost un- 
limited, with reasonable rates of freight. 



IP(CRHASE II« POPUIvAXIOX AXD MANU- 
FACTURES. 



POPULATION. 

The census returns of all the Atlantic and Gulf ports, from Nor- 
folk to Galveston, have been made public, and Norfolk shows a 
greater percentage of increase, during the last ten years, than either 
of the others. This is a gratifying: faft, when it is remembered that 
the distance from the Capes of Virginia to the southern border of 
Texas is fully fifteen hundred miles, in a direft line, while the coast- 
line is perhaps twenty-five hundred miles in extent, and that the 
intervening territory — an empire in extent — is capable of almost 
indefinite development, not only in agriculture, but in mining and 
manufa6luring as well. 

Satisfadory as our progress has been during the past decade — 
and it is very pleasant to know that the percentage of our growth 
has been greater than that of Galveston, the chief commercial city 
of. the great Lone Star State ; of New Orleans, the Queen City of 
the Southwest ; of Mobile, Alabama's Gulf port ; Savannah, Geor- 
gia's commercial metropolis ; Charleston, South Carolina's chief 
mart, and Wilmington, North Carolina's most important city — the 
aim of our business people should be to still further extend Nor- 
folk's trade and influence, not only in the dire6lion of commerce, 
but in manufa6luring as well. 

Many interior cities in the South show decidedly larger gains in 
population than do the cities on the sea board, but Norfolk is favor- 
ably situated for both factories and commerce. I'he Elizabeth river 
and its different branches can afford wharfage facilities to an un- 
limited extent — forty or fifty miles if necessary — while the raw 
materials for manufacturing purposes can be laid down here at a 
minimum cost — especially coal and iron, those two elements which 
enter so largely into the wants of modern civilization. — Norfolk 
Ledger. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Our sister city, Norfolk, shows a marked increase in its manufac- 
tures during the ten years from 1880 to 1890 — in fa6l, a larger 
increase than any other Virginia city so far reported on by the 



VIII. 



census bureau. This is shown by the comparison found in census 
bulletin No. 253. 

The following table gives interesting figures. 



Capital 

Hands employed 

Wages paid 

Material used 

Value of product 

Average wages per capita 




570,276 00 

752 00 

317,528 00 

861,026 00 

1,455,987 00 

419 55 



1890 



$3,120,819 00 

2,791 00 

1,292,813 00 

2,288,518 00 

4,634,263 00 

463 15 



It is a showing of remarkable progress, but which will, we are 
sure, be exceeded by the record of the current decade. 

So far as may be judged by the bulletin quoted, the profits upon- 
invested capital have been large. The wages paid, and the miscel- 
laneous expenses, the latter being $255,138, represent the total cost 
of manufa6lures, and in this instance amount to $3,776,267, while the 
value of the produ6l is $4,634,263, giving a profit of $857,996, 
which is about 27 per cent, upon the investment. All of us re- 
member the great financial trouble that had so depressing an efie6l 
upon business of the city early in the decade, and to show such 
progress in the face of what appeared, for a time, to threaten the 
future of the city, is indeed at once cause for congratulation and 
promise for greatness. And may the promise be abundantly re- 
alized. — Petersburg hidex - Appeal. 



ASSESSMEP^X AXD XAXAXION. 



The following figures show the total assessment of real estate 
in the six wards of the city, for the year 1892, the tax being 
$1.60 per $100, and 10 cents per $100 water tax. 

Real estate valuations $18,942,600 

Total taxation 274,730 

Brambleton and Atlantic City wards, annexed a few years ago, 
pay a reduced property tax, and none for water, under the an- 
nexation contra6i; for the term of years therein specified. 



City Credit. — The securities of the city, which bear a low rate 
of interest, sell uniformly from five to ten per cent, above par, and 
are eagerly sought as investments. This is the best evidence of a 
healthy financial condition. 



IX. 
TRANSPORXAXIOI^ FACILITIES. 



There is no city of Norfolk's size in the country which affords 
equal transportation facilities by rail and water, and the same a6live 
competition in the matter of rates, etc. 

There are nine lines of railway and sixteen lines of steamships 
radiating from Norfolk, penetrating and conne6ling with every por- 
tion of the Union. Trunk lines conne(5t Norfolk (with New York, 
Cincinnati, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio ; and with the great West, 
Southwest and South, We have, in addition, direct steamer and 
sail connexion with Great Britain and continental ports. 

The Norfolk and Western Railroad, with its main line, branches 
and feeders, traverses the richest coal and iron producing sections 
of Virginia, and touches all the developing towns of the south- 
western portion of the State. It reaches also, by its connexions, the 
cotton country of the South and Southwest. It is just completing 
its great Western connection, making a dire6l trunk line from Nor- 
folk to Louisville, Cincinnati and. Columbus, Ohio. 

The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad traverses another rich and 
productive se6lion of Virginia and West Virginia, a se6lion rich also 
in coal and iron, and connects Norfolk with the great West and 
Southwest. 

The Norfolk and Carolina Railroad, a section of the Coast Line, 
connects Norfolk directly with the great South, as does the Sea- 
board Air Line to Atlanta, and the Atlantic & Danville road by the 
Richmond and Danville system. The Norfolk & Southern Rail- 
road connects Norfolk with the produClive country of Eastern North 
Carohna, which is also tributary to Norfolk by canal and sound 
steamers. 

The New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad conneCts Nor- 
folk by rail with the North and East. The Virginia Beach and 
Ocean View Railroads conneCt Norfolk direClly with the delightful 
ocean shore resorts. All the rail and water lines leading from and 
into Norfolk are equipped with every modern convenience of travel 
and every facility of freight transportation. The fine lines of 
steamers which conneCt Norfolk with Boston, New York, Provi- 
dence, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, and the 
rivers and sounds of Virginia and North Carolina, constitute impor- 
tant factors in securing for Norfolk the very lowest freight and 
passenger rates. 

Norfolk has elevator facilities lor handling grain. 



Street Cars. — Norfolk has a splendid system of street cars, 
traversing the entire city and suburbs, conne(5fing with railway de- 
pots and steamship wharves, A large extension of these facilities 
is soon to be made, in order to keep pace with the rapid growth of 
the city. 



X. 
FORHIGX SHIPPING. 



The following figures show the entrances and clearances of ship- 
ping to foreign ports only, for the years named, at this port : — 



1891 — ENTERED. 

Sailing vessels... 30. Tons 14,521 

Steam vessels. . . 571. Tons. . . .786,052 



Total tons.... 800,573 



1891 — CLEARED. 

Sailing vessels. . . 35. Tons 1H,635 

Steam vessels ...556. Tons. .. .772,761 



Total tons. . .789,396 



1892 — ENTERED. 

Sailing vessels. .. 10. Tons 5,261 

Steam vessels 454. Tons .... 638,716 



1892 — CLEARED. 

Sailing vessels... 60. Tons..., 27,477 
Steam vessels .... 463. Tons .... 668,740 



Total tons.... 643,977 



Total tons.... 696,217 



FOREIGN EXPORTS OF MERCHANDISE. 

1891 $15,286,407 

1892 8,382,412 



POCAHONXAS COAI.. 



The fame of this celebrated coal for either steam or domestic 
uses is growing world - wide, and the great double piers at 
Lambert's Point, in this harbor bear witness to the heavy de- 
mand for it at home and abroad : — 

Its introdu6lion by the Norfolk & Western Railroad, owning 
and developing the mines, began its deliveries in this harbor in 
1 886, and has grown from a half million tons in that year to a 
figuije exceeding in 1892 three hundred per cent. 

In 1886 504,153 tons 

In 1887 695,822ton8 

In 1888 883,759 tons 

In 1889 1,020,508 tons 

In 1890 1,159,019 tons 

In 1891 1,469,825 tons 

In 1892 : 1,654,298 tons 

The fleet of vessels — steam and sailing — required to carry 
coastwise and foreign, amounted to 1,825 in the year 1892. 

Messrs. Wm. Lamb & Co. are the sole agents, to whom all 
orders or inquiries for information should be addressed, at Nor- 
folk, Virginia. 



XL 
COTTON. 

On page 12 of this pamphlet, full figures are given of Cotton 
Receipts at Norfolk, for the years 1858-59 to 1889-90 inclusive. 
The Receipts since then were as follows: 

For 1890-'91 year ending Sept. 1st 660,537 bales. 

" 1891-'92 " " ' " 540,193 •' 



NO BETTER PI.ACE FOR MANUFACTURERS. 



There is no point in the South where the "raw material' may 
be gotten together as cheaply as on this harbor. There is abun- 
dant and " cheap labor," also *' cheap steam coal " of the very 
best quality ; and there seems to be no real or substantial 
obstacle to the making of Norfolk a first - class manufacturing 
point. The natural advantages are here. All that is needed 
to utilize the same, is capital and experience. 

With an abundance of rail and water lines for transportation 
to all parts of the country, reasonable rates of freight may al- 
ways be obtained. 

Then, in addition to this, the indirect trade of the city is im- 
mense and getting more so each year, drawing articles for export 
from away " beyond the Mississippi," and also from points in the 
remotest " great North-West " by means oi her 

TWO GREAT TRUNK LINES, 

viz. : the Norfolk & Western and the Chesapeake & Ohio 
Railroads. 

As a distributing point for imports, the city is already noted for 
the large field covered and the favorable freight rates. There is no 
city in the country that enjoys such liberal rates of freight to all the 
great Northern consuming centres. 



Advantages. — Norfolk offers unequalled advantages for the es- 
tablishment of mechanical industries, large and small. 

There is hardly any industry that can be mentioned which would 
not find at Norfolk a favorable location for the manufacture, sale and 
distribution of its product, as well as for the cheap gathering of it^ 
material and labor. 



xli. 



THE CI^IMATE or NORFOI.K. 

The climate of any sedion of country is a very important 
item — an item that makes powerfully for or against that se<?tion. 
In considering or discussing the climate subject, one need only 
consider the topics of wind, moisture and temperature. 

The " golden mean " of climate is at the seaside in middle 
latitudes. When we get down to the sea in latitudes about half 
way between the equator and the north pole, we are quite sure 
to find a very desirable climate. Our location is such as to nat- 
urally insure us against either extreme of climate. Then, again, the 
'* Gulf Stream," which is an important fadlor in our weather pro- 
blem, rolls past our doors only about fifty miles off shore, and we 
feel its influences very perceptibly in cooling the heat of our 
summers and in warming the cold of our winters. It maintains 
an even temperature throughout the year, and therefore sheds its 
mild and genial influences at all seasons. In the winter the 
' * Gulf Stream ' ' is warmer than the air, and in summer it is 
cooler. South - eastern Virginia is especially favored with the 
" trade - winds, " which blow all day long in summer from the 
south - east, and which are followed at night by a land breeze 
that springs up and blows all night long from the south - west. 
The air is therefore constantly in motion, and constantly tem- 
pered and cooled by the waters of the Atlantic, which, with its 
arms, surrounds us on all sides but one. Our climate is, there- 
fore, practically a salt - water climate, and we may safely claim 
for it the very best all - the - year - around climate in the United 
States — if not in the whole world. 

Temperature and Rain-fall Figures of Norfolk, Va., for i8gi. 



— 1891 



January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Year . .,..,... 












0) 



50.2 
57.1 
60.7 
66.9 
72.2 
83.3 
83.0 
84.7 
80.6 
66.0 
56.9 
57.0 

67.4 



35.8 
40.8 
36.5 
49.3 
55.6 
66.0 
67.1 
701 
66.0 
51.3 
42.7 
40.1 

51.8 



!>. 


1 


<S) 


.--i 


ti 


as 


• r-l 


• i-H 


03 


03 


C3 -»^ 


P 


Ph 


5 o3 


03 




.Jh <s> 


rt fc>D 


,_H 


M Ph 


o3 n 




^a 

67 


14.4 


2.86 


16.3 


5.10 


78 


14.2 


8.09 


74 


17.6 


1.88 


84 


16.6 


3.58 


89 


17.2 


1.56 


97 


16.0 


8.90 


91 


14.6 


5.87 


94 


14.6 


2.43 


90 


14.7 


6.89 


88 


14.2 


2.11 


74 


l/.O 


1.36 


75 


15.6 


50.63 


97 



as 

3 a 



25 
24 
23 
33 
44 
56 
59 
61 
59 
36 
23 



22 



KARLY VEGEXABI.E TRADE, 



The country around Norfolk is famous for the cultivation of 
early vegetables. 

Statistics, carefully gathered and compiled at the Chamber ot 
Commerce, show that shipments to Northern markets of this 
profitable industry, beginning in May, and ending in August, 
were as follows : 

Barrels, boxes and crates, in 1891 . 1,488,531 

" " " " " 1892 2,054,639 

These packages represent about four millions of dollars, and 
if we add the local consumption for resident population, and that 
of over one million tons of shipping in this harbor annually, 
we may safely place the receipts from our " trucking " interests 
at six millions of dollars. 



]^(ORFOI.K & I^YXNMAITEX RAII^ROAD. 



Books of subscription to the capital stock of a railroad from 
Norfolk to Lynnhaven have been opened. This road will combine 
business and pleasure. It will form a connecting link for the short 
line between New York and Florida, and will connec?!: this city with 
the shores of Lynnhaven bay, the most attractive location for 
pleasure in this se6lion. [See map.] 



IrOCAI^ XOP9XAOE IN 1892. 



The total tonnage of vessels and steamers plying the harbor of 
Norfolk, and comprising established lines to Boston, New York, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D. C, Richmond, Va., and 
the coastwise trade, is as follows : — 



No. 


Chakacter 


Tons 


86 


Bay and Ocean Steamers- . . . ^ 


50,176 


89 


Biver Steamers and Tugs 


11,276 
19,786 


420 


Sailing Vessels 










Total 81,238 



XIV. 
RBAI^ CSXAXE XRAP^SPCRS. 



1890 — 1891 — 1892 — 

City of Norfc^lk $2,540,695 00 $1,720,969 00 $1,920,276 00 

City of Portsmouth.. 734,900 00 222,740 00 435,122 00 

Norfolk County .... 3,801,003 00 3,121,919 00 1,926,657 00 



I^YNNHAVE^i BRBAK^VATBR. 



The feasibility and necessity of a harbor of refuge for vessels in 
Lynnhaven bay, just inside the capes of Virginia, has been dis- 
cussed in maritime circles for many years, but it did not take shape 
until the 51st Congress, at its second session, passed an a6t author- 
izing a survey to be made and an estimate of the cost for " a break- 
water, to form a harbor of safety and refuge, in Lynnhaven" bay, 
near cape Henry, at the foot of Chesapeake bay, Virginia." 

The survey was intrusted to Col. Peter C. Hains, U. S. Engineer, 
and, in his valuable report to the Secretary of War, sent to the 5 2d 
Congress, he strongly recommends the constru6lion of the break- 
water, and, after giving statistics, says : " It would thus appear that 
a harbor of refuge at Lynnhaven bay is demanded for humanity's 
sake, no less than for commercial reasons." 

A breakwater, costing one million and half dollars, could shelter a 
fleet of at least 300 vessels. The construction of the great work 
which will certainly be commenced by the next Congress, will be of 
great advantage, not only to the commerce of Virginia, but of the 
whole country. 

POSTAI^ RBCHIPXS COIUPARBO. 



From the postmaster in this city we give the following postal 
receipts for years specified : 

For year ending June 30th, 1887 $ 48,056.75 

" 1888 50,023.86 

" " 1889 54,688.79 

" " " " 1890 58,476.60 

" " " " 1891 68,419.83 

" " " " 1892 74,360.20 

A net increase of $26,303.45 in five years. 



Cost of Living. — The cost of living in Norfolk will compare 
favorably with any other locality, the market affording a great 
variety. 



XV. 
BABiKINO AXD FII^AXCH. 



The following figures are up to March ist, 1893. 

CLEARING HOUSE STATEMENT, 

1885 $ 33,228,851 

1886 40,342,389 

1887 42,013,162 

1888 45,447,259 

*1889 39,945,470 

1890.;!;.'!.".;;.'!.';;!.":.!;;...;; 48,210,486 

1891 54,167,968 

*1892 50,620,725 

^Reduced by short cotton crops. 

BANKING CAPITAL, 

Norfolk National Bank (see adv.) $ 400,000 

Citizen Bank (see adv ) 300,000 

Marine Bank (see adv.). 110,000 

City National Bank 200,000 

Bank of Commerce 100,000 

Three Savings Banks 55,000 

Two Private Banks (capital unknown) 

^ $1,165,000.00 

The following figures embrace a condensed statement of the finan- 
cial condition in the aggregate, of banking houses only. 

Capital Stock I 1,165,000.00 

Surplus, and Undivided Profits 427,573.54 

Deposits.. 4,449,114.80 

Loans and Discounts 3,839,361.93 

Investments, (Bonds) 1,285,435.00 

It is safe to add that there is, at all times awaiting investment, 

prwate capital to loan upon mortgage, or other approved security, 

$2,000,000 to $3,000,000 at rate of interest suited to the risk, say 

six to ten per cent. 

Churches. — The various Christian denominations are fully rep- 
resented, the aggregate number of Church edifices being over thirty. 
Two Hebrew Synagogues. Norfolk has a splendid Young Men's 
Christian Association building, with gymnasium, which cost four 
years ago $45,000. . 

Schools and Colleges. — Norfolk's educational advantages are 
equal to the best. She has a fine system of public schools, and, in 
addition, numerous private schools, academies and colleges for both 
sexes. 

Hospitals. — Norfolk has two excellent hospitals — the St. Vin- 
cent de Paul, under the sisters of the Catholic Church, and the 
Retreat for the Sick, under the Protestant Women's Charitable 
Organization — both excellent institutions. 



XVI. 

Norfolk. — Norfolk's geographical position, as the most conven- 
ient port and distributing point on the Atlantic coast, is too well 
known to require description. 

The distance from Norfolk to British and continental ports is the 
same as from New York, and shorter to South American ports. 

Our proximity to the consuming marts of this country is shown 
by the following figures : 

Boston, 20 hours by rail, 40 by water. 

New York, 12 hours by rail, 21 by water. 

Philadelphia, 10 hours by rail, 18 by water. 

Baltimore, 8 hours by rail, 12 by water. 

Washington, 7 hours by rail, 12 by water. 

Richmond, (State Capital) by rail 2? hours, by the James river 
water lines, which have special historic attractions, 10 hours. 

Cincinnati, by rail 23 hours. 

Chicago, by rail 34 hours. 

St. Louis, by rail 34 hours. 

Norfolk is nearer than New York to San Francisco. 

Water. — The water supply of Norfolk is abundant, and is fur- 
nished through the Holly system from fresh water lakes, five to 
seven miles distant. 

This water is admirably adapted to manufa6luring purposes, being 
free from the properties which cause boilers to corrode. Wells fur- 
nish plenty of water, also of equally good quality, and at small 
expense. 

Light. — The city is lighted by electricity. Gas is $1.40 per M. 
feet. 

Sewerage. — The city is supplied throughout with the Waring 
sewer system. 

'WHEN XREAXEO XWICIE. 



Trades and subjects which are mentioned more than once will be 

found on pages as indicated below : 

Lumber, ...... VI and 7. 

Coal, . • . . . . . X and 8. 

Vegetables or Truck, .... XIII and 10. 

Peanuts, ...... VI and 11. 

Cotton, . . . . . • . XI and 12. 

Exports— Foreign, . . , . X and 18. 

Population, ...... VII and 15. 

Manufactures, ..... VII and 16. 

Assessment and Taxation, .... VIII and 17. 

Climate, etc., ..... XII and 25. 

Assessment and Taxation, .... VIII and 17. 

Railroads and Transportation, ... IX and 19. 

The reader should not scan hurriedly these pages ; they contain a 
vast amount of truth, which an earnest seeker may find it to hisi 
interest to ponder. 



OUR i.ijmbii:r xradh* 



There is no article of Southern production that can vie with 
lumber in its importance to this port Prior to the year i860 the 
manufacture of timber in this section, was a financial disaster to 
every one who engaged in it. 

Not that we lacked the crude material, in the millions of acres 
near at hand, of Southern pine, oak, ash, poplar, maple, chestnut, 
gum and other woods ; but the machinery, skilled labor and di- 
rection, with a limited market for the manufactured product. Since 
about 1870 a new and prosperous era has favored that trade. 

In that year the total production of manufactured lumber, ready 
for the hand of the carpenter to mould into use, was given at fifty 
millions of feet; and now, in 1890, it reaches the stupendous figure 
of three hundred and twenty millions of feet, cut from the forest, 
sawed and dressed by the most approved machinery, some of 
which is original with our local millers, patented and controlled by 
them, and not in use by any other lumber manufacturers in this 
country. 

The capital invested in this branch of trade and industry, in order 
to produce such an immense output of lumber, is greater by many 
times than any other branch of business in this locality. 

There is no article of our commerce that gives employment to so 
many persons, or that maintains so many families by the large amounts 
of money annually paid out to a class of laborers and mechanics as 
is distributed by our producers of manufactured lumber. 

To make these facts plainer, we give the figures in detail as fur- 
nished the Chamber of Commerce by the Lumbermen's Committee. 

" There are in and around Norfolk sixty (60) saw mills and plan- 
ing mills whose annual production is now three hundred and twenty 
million (320,000,000) feet of lumber, worth about 4,500,000 dollars 
at wholesale prices. 

These mills employ about (5,000) five thousand men ; their pay- 
rolls aggregate ($150,000) one hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
per month, or nearly ($2,000,000) two millions of dollars annually. 

In addition to these figures, these mills require thousands of 
dollars worth of provisions for their men, and many more thousands 



8 

of dollars worth of hay and feed for the j^reat number of cattle 
employed in hauling timber and logs out of the forest. 

This, together with a large amount paid out for chains, axes, rope 
and other supplies needed in this work, places the lumber interest, 
in this immediate locality, very far ahead in the line of /lome profit 
and production of any other branch of business enterprises in our 
midst ; and it is growing larger and larger every year in order to 
supply the increasing demand from all parts of this great country, for 
Southern pine lumber. 

Norfolk, therefore, becomes the distributing point for this large 
output of lumber, and, at times, it is almost impossible to secure 
readv transportation for it, even with our numerous lines of railroad 
and steamers ; but when the fact is stated that three hundred and 
twenty millions feet requires 32,000 freight cars of 10,000 feet each, 
or 3,200 vessels of 200 tons each, to carry this lumbf^r away, sortie 
idea may be formed as to the requirements for transportation facili- 
ties, and occasional delays made obvious. 

The amount of capital invested in these mills and outstanding 
timber exceeds ($5,000,000) five miUions of dollars. 

Our trade in staves, shingles, railroad ties and other prepared 
lumber, for coastwise and foreign demand, is estimated at not less 
than ($1,500,000) one million five hundred thousand dollars. 



COAI.. 



In addition to our local trade in coal for home consumption, which 
is estimated at 55,000 tons, we have at our doors the great depot at 
Lambert's Point, where the celebrated Pocahontas mines deposit 
their product for sale and delivery, and which is now conceded to be 
the best steam coal produced in this country from any source. The 
pier constructed at this point was constructed in 1884. It is 894 
feet long and 60 feet wide, with an extreme height of 48 feet above 
high water mark. The water is twenty- six feet deep at low tide, where 
the largest class of vessels can take on cargoes of this famous steam 
coal. The loading is done to expedite the demand both day and 
night. 



9 

From this pier at Lambert's Point there was delivered by the 
agents 

in 1886 504,153 tons 

in 1887 695,822 " 

in 1888 883,759 " 

in 1889 1,020,508 " 

G-iving a total of 3,104,242 tons 

for the four years named, and which was delivered to 3,821 steamers, 
brigs, ships and other sailing craft, both large and small. 

It may be added that the Norfolk & Western Railroad Co., the 
owners of these now celebrated mines have, within the present year, 
doubled their capacity for storage at Lambert's Point, that they ma}^ 
be fully prepared to supply the demand which is steadily growing. 

Their stately piers in our harbor, only two miles below the city, 
do not fail to attract the attention of every person who reaches 
our city through the broad arid deep waters of the Elizabeth. 



OUR OYSXEB* XRAOE. 



The waters of the Chesapeake Bay and the rivers and creeks by 
which they are washed are known the world over for the immense 
beds of oysters which lie beneath their surface, and many thousands 
of men, both white and colored, earn their living at "oystering." 

For the shucking and preparing these oysters for other markets, 
there are about twenty firms engaged in this business in Norfolk and 
its suburbs. The total "catch" for a season will average about 
2,000,000 bushels. The season lasts about eight months, say Irom 
September ist to April 30th, and boats carrying from ten bushels to 
hundreds of bushels are constantly employed to supply the demand 
for this and other cities. 

This industry enables a large portion of our population to live 
comfortably, and they like the work. 

In 1878 the estimate made of our oyster trade was $350,000, and 
in 1886 has grown to the surprising amount of $2,500,000 per annum . 

Our state authorities reported in the last year named that there 
were 18,864 persons engaged in fisheries, all of which are in tidewater 
Virginia. Norfolk, being the center of this great business, the re- 
port gives the capital employed at $1,914,119, and the value of the 
products at $3,124,444. 



10 



TRUCK, OR BARI.Y VKGHTABLKS. 



Norfolk may be said to be the centre of the greatest market garden 
in the United States. These great truck farms extend over an area 
of about twenty five miles in diameter, covering Norfolk county and 
a part of Princess Anne and Nansemond, and no other section of 
like proportions can show the amount of truck produced by this or 
the amount of cash received for the produce. 

The heart of the trucking season lasts about six weeks, covering 
June and apart of May and July. During this period our large 
transportation lines put on extra steamships, and a daily line is es- 
tablished between Norfolk and all of the Northern markets. From 
the best information obtainable, we would estimate that the mcJve- 
ment of truck during these six weeks kverage between 250,000 and 
300,000 packages per week, or about 1,700,000 packages during the 
season. To handle this immense volume of produce, both- in gath- 
ering and preparing for market and in its transportation, a very large 
number of people are required, a large proportion of whom have to 
be drawn from other parts of the country, principally North Carolina, 
though many come from long distances during the season. 

This trade in 1879 was estimated by growers and dealers at 
^i,75i.,645, and for the current year it is estimated to have reached 
about $4,500,000, as the following schedule will justify : 



Cabbage, 

Potatoes, 

Spinach, 

Kale, 

Lettuce, 

Melons, 

Tomatoes, 

Beans, 

Cucumbers, 

Peas 

Asparagus 

Berries, 



KIND 



barrels . 



QUANTITY. 



boxes 



quarts 



Misc. vegetables, pckgs. 
Total 



347,130 

500,000 

122,839 

177,707 

8,174 

836,153 

92,591 

80,935 

46,280 

185,415 

2.928 

9,465,306 

180,949 



VALUE. 



$ 433,912 50 

1,500,000 00 

245,658 00 

177,707 00 

28,609 00 
104,519 00 

69,443 25 
121,402 50 

34,710 00 
324,476 25 

17,568 00 
946,530 60 
536,241 75 

4,541,077 85 



11 

OVM. PEAKUX XRABIK, 



Virginia is recognized as the largest producer of peanuts. North 
Carohna and Tennessee also produce them, but statistics show that 
they fall far behind our o\\«i state, and, in fact, the crop of these two 
states combined in the fifteen years from 1874 to 1888 inclusive, did 
not equal Virginia's production by about seven and a half millions of 
bushels. The crop in Virginia in 1874 was estimated at 225,000 
bushels, and in 1888 at 2,250,000 bushels.- Last year (1889) the 
crop was very short, owing to unseasonable weather, but the crop 
for the present year, 1890, (now coming into market) is estimated at 
2,700,000 bushels of g6od quality, and exceeds the crop of 1889 by 
1,100,000 bushels. It >will therefore be seen that this year's crop is 
likely to turn into the^pockets of our farmers about two million of 
dollars ($2,000,000) as the proceeds of that crop, and Norfolk mer- 
chants will handle, as usual, a liberal share of this crop. 

PEANUT FACTORIES. 

There are four large buildings in this city devoted to the purpose 
of cleaning and grading peanuts. These establishments are operated 
by different companies, who employ a large number of operatives, a 
majority of whom are colored women and girls. The nuts are taken 
from the farmer and put through machines which take off the dirt 
and polish the shell. This machine is a Norfolk invention, and the 
process is a secret one. There is also a bleaching process, a Nor- 
folk invention, which is applied to mildewed nuts to brighten them, 
thus materially enhancing their market value. 

The amount of capital required in the business is between $400,000 
and $500,000, working between 600 and 800 operatives, male and 
female, earning quite $75,000 per annum wages in the re-cleaning 
and hand-picking process. 

This city has for years occupied a leading position among the few 
large peanut markets of the world. 



12 
OUU COXXOX XRAOie. 



Until about the year 1858 the receipts of cotton at this port were 
almost too insignificent to be noticed in our trade reports. The sec- 
tion of country then trading in Norfolk produced largely of corn, 
oats and peas, and these were the principle articles at that time to 
which the farmer gave his attention. But about this period the at- 
tention of these farmers was turned to the cultivation of the great sta- 
ple as being more certain and profitable to them. 

The following table exhibits the receipts of cotton by bales at Nor- 
folk for the years named, beginning with September ist and ending 
with August 3rst of each year : 

Year. Bales. Ye^ir. Bales. 

1858-'9 6,174 1876-'? " 509,612 

1859-'60 17,777 1877-'8 430,557 

1860-'l 33,198 1878 '9 443,285 

[1861 to 1865— the Civil war.] 187b)-'80 597,086 

l865-'6 59,096 1880-'l 713,026 

1866-'7 126,287 1881-'2 622,883 

1867-'8 155,591 1982-'3 -.. 800,133 

1868-'9 164,789 1883-'4 582,837 

1869-'70 178,352 1884-'5 548,823 

1870'1 302,930 1885-'6 562,580 

1871-'2 258,7.30 1886-'7 556,538 

1872-'3 405,412 1887-'8 500,308 

1873 '4 472,446 1888-'9 , 506,171 

1874-^5 393,672 1889-'90 412,741 

1875-'6 469,998 

And for the present crop of 1890 the receipts from September ist 
to December 13th were 342,795 bales, being an excess of 86,059 bales 
compared with a like period in 1889. 

The falling off m our receipts since 1883 was attributable to re- 
duced crops in the Carolinas, and the combination of transportation 
companies in diverting the staple to West Point, in this State, which 
otherwise would have been brought to this port. The tide, how- 
ever, is already turning in our favor, as shown in the receipts of the 
present season at both places ; the figures being furnished by our 
Cotton Exchange as follows : 

WEST POINT, VA. 

Receipts from Sept. 1, 1889, to December 13 200,006 bales 

" for same period this year 191,299 " 



Decrease 8,707 



13 

NORFOLK, TA. 

Keceipts from Sept. 1, 1890, to Dec. 13 342,795 bales 

" for same period last year 256,736 '• 

Increase.., 86,059 " 

The recent completion of the Norfolk & Carolina Railroad and 
the Atlantic & Danville has contributed largely to our trade this 
year in cotton and general merchandise as well ; and upon the ex- 
tension of the Seaboard & Roanoke system to Atlanta, Ga., which 
will be completed before the next cotton season — these lines will 
greatly augment our receipts, 

Norfolk has now five powerful presses with capacity for compress- 
ing 7,ooo bales in twenty-four hours, or 4,000 bales in twelve hours 
of day labor, and it may be claimed that with low rates of handling 
and port charges, Norfolk has no rival upon the Atlantic coast for 
the handling cf this great southern product. 



OUR EXPOMT TMAOH. 

We obtain from the Collector of Customs at this port the fol- 
lowing figures, giving tonnage and values at this port for the fiscal 
years ending June 30th, from 1870 to 1890 inclusive : 

Year ' Tonnage Value Year Tonnage Value 

1870..... 13,502,......$ 886,594 1881. ...,. 127,964. ..... .$16,264,137 

1871 19,174 727,997 1882...... 120,838 19,845,337 

1872. ..... 20,371 975,793 ii 1883. ..... 99,282 14,315,298 

1873. 30,795 1,2.55,420 ■' 1884 103,014 15,585,377 

1874 48,675. = ..... 3,701,006 1885. 85,261 10,341,709 

1875 53,638 6,395,162 : 1886 185,150 14,145,211 

1876 66,188 7,815,112 ji 1887 259,844 14,714,404 

1877 62,148 6,277,249 ' i 1888 259,291 13,812,641 

1878 84,771 10,029,248 ■ 1889 .335,021 12,813,854 

1879 108,287. ..... 9,820,258 ^ 1890 401,217 14,247,477 

1880 132,608 18,166,959 

Variations in these figures for the several years is accounted for 
in our cotton receipts, which is the leading article in our export 
trade. 

Other merchandise and products consist of coal, lumber, timber, 
staves, bark, corn, wheat, flour, naval stores, cattle, tqbacco ancj 
other miscellaneoun articles of minor note, 



Vessel entered and cleared at this port during the fiscal year 
ending June jotk, i8<po : 

DIRECTION ENTERED CLEARED 

No. Tons No. Tons 

Foreign 107 111,460 353 416,149 

Coastwise .1,350 1,371,315 1,154 1,115,771 



Total 1,457 1,482,775 1,507 1,531,920 

From U. S. Treasury Department, Statistical Bureau, November 
report, we find the exports for three Virginia ports, as follows : 

For 10 months For 10 months 

ending Oct. 31, ending Oct. 31, 

1890. 1889. 

Norfolk $10,486,106 $7,003,306 

Newport! News .., 6,537,690 5,085,368 

Richmond 4,372,034 7,061,884 

Increase in 1890, Norfolk 49 75 per cent. 

" Newport News 28.00 

Decrease " Richmond 38.00 " 



NORFOLK'S AKl^UAI. BUSINESS. 



In iSSo the aggregate of our total trade was placed at $38,200,436. 

It 1883 it was estimated to be ^55,011,656. Whether these 
figures were approximated with sound judgment or not, it is not 
our task now to question them ; but with better facilities em- 
ployed at this Chamber for the past three years, we can furnish 
figures more nearly approximating accuracy than has heretofore 
been possible. 

By diligent efforts we can now obtain statistical information from 
transportation companies which, in the years above named, was 
almost impossible, and steady application to this work will soon 
enable us to defy criticism. 

From our schedule we compile the following figures as showing 
in part, our receipts for the year 1889 : 

Orocpries and Provisions. 



Flour, barrels 231,400 '} Butter, pounds 1,004.050 

Pork, •' 13,600 ; I Lard, " 3,274.550 

J^ish, " 27,000 ii Cheese, " 709,200 

Sugar " 28,565 ' Meat, " 19,791,920 

Molasses and Syrups, bbls., 6,588 , Coffee, " 1,160,520 

Beef (salt), bbls 1,100 || Tea, packages 2,060 



15 



Hay and Grain Products. 

Hay, tons 12,648 

Corn, bushels 819,401 

Oats, bushels 272,397 



Miscellaneous. 

Cotton Seed Oil, bbls 29,970 

Naval Stores, " 22,375 

Cattle, head 7,343 

Hogs and Sheep, head. . . . 6,811 

Coal Oil, barrels....' ..... 41,000 



Cornmeal, bushels. ..."'.... 239^995 I' Jggs, packages 31,219 

j^ice " 19 370 Pig Iron, tons 89,2bo 

Tgpan " '.*..*..'.'.*.' 153158 '•' Pocahontas Coal, tons 1,020,508 

j^ye ' u 6248 ' Tobacco, hogsheads 21,003 

•^ ' ' I '' packages 116,806 



This report precludes at this date the receipts for the year 1890, 
which now show, by comparison for the expired months, large gains 
in all leading articles over the year 1889. 

We find in Norfolk more than 1,380 tradesmen, artisans, profess- 
ions and other of miscellaneous avocations which aggregate a large 
business. Figures, therefore, computed with care, give us the total 
of about $75,000,000 of annual trade and commerce for Norfolk's 
present population, of which we hereafter make note. 



POFUIvAXIO]?^ A?!^® KXFAMSIOJ*. 



From official reports of the United States census office, we find the 
population, as enumerated for Norfolk city in 1890, given at 34,986, 
and Portsmouth at 12,345. In 1870 the population of Norfolk was 
stated to be 19,229, in t88o at 21,966, and with the figures given as 
above, 34,986 for 1890, our percentage of increase shows 14 per 
cent, for the first decade and 59.27 per cent, for the last. 

This increase is not surprising when we find the old city covered 
with stores and dwellings in almost every available space, and the 
suburbs for three miles out in every direction selling at $1,000 to 
$1,500 per acre, and lots 25x110 selling readily at $250 to $800 each 
within easy access to the city. 

•'Observer," in the Norfolk Virginian, of recent date, has this to 
say about the present situation : 

A few years ago a land boomer would probably describe Lambert's Point 
as a locality where all facilities existed, and where every imaginable oppor- 
tunity was at hand to aid the purposes of commerce. This description would 
probably, at that time, compel some people to shrug their shoulders^ shake 



i6 

their heads and express themselves in a manner not at all complimentary to 
the predictions of real estate agents; but to-day the wharves of Lambert's 
Point are crowded with shipping, which carry from our shores the products 
of the Sunn)^ South. That Norfolk has made wonderful progress in the on- 
ward march of cities of the south is palpable to anybody who has lived here 
for any lengthened period. Let a person, after an absendfe of some years, re- 
visit Norfolk. Palatial residences have sprung up and superseded very mod- 
est buildings where our visitor perhaps at one time slept peacefully, per- 
fectly unconscious of future changes, aod so remarkable and varied have been 
the improvements that if he were possessed of a good imagination he would 
come to the conclusion that Norfolk was endeavoring to disguise herself 
through the instrumentality of architectural changes from the admiring gaze 
of her old citizens. 

IISOUfcBMET^JXS TO M ATVUFACTURER^. 



Because Norfolk is a seaport city why is she not a desirable 
location for manufacturing plants ? 

A glance at our statistics will show that we have at hand all the 
lumber, coal and iron at first hands and in abundant quantities. 

On the line of three of our railroads, penetrating southwest and 
west Virginia, hard woods and those suitable for the construction of 
domestic wares — especially furniture — may be found in great abun- 
dance, and transported to this city at a minimum expense. 

A belt line railroad around this harbor, and soon to be built, will 
give equal facilities to five railroads, already here, to deliver as well 
as receive freight at the doors of the factory for shipment over land 
or water to any portion of the country. 

Recent investments in lard around Norfolk, by home and foreign 
capitalists, have enabled them to offer sites for manufacturing plants 
upon the most favorable terms; and through a Promoting and 
Investment Company, organized under a liberal charter, are ready 
to lend or invest in the establishing of manufacturing industries. 

Letters of enquiry will receive prompt attention if addressed to the 
Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. 



17 
PHYSICAI. ANO FIKAP>fCIAl, ORO^WTM. 



The reader of these pages cannot fail to realize that there has been a marked 
material development in this ancient city within the last ten years, and that 
the forces now at work will necessarily bring a more wonderful increase 
within the next decade. 

It I as been our aim to place only facts before the public, as they are, that 
far-seeing men may calculate the profits which judicious investments are sure 
to bring in the near future. With the advent ol the current year a notable 
demand was observed for city and suburban property, and gradually the 
figures paid were startling. Property on or near the water front, within three 
to five miles above and below the city found ready buyers at $500 to |)1,500 
per acre, about ten times the price at which they could have been bought two 
years ago. 

This activity, not yet at the flood, has been stimulated by our growth in 
trade relations with other sections through railroad extensions, and the de- 
velopment by trunk lines concentrating in this harbor. Capitalists from 
the money centres in this country and in Europe have placed, and are placing 
their capital here in vast sums, thus showing their coofidence in the belief 
that Norfolk, with its great harbor and location, is about to attain the destiny 
Avhich many great and wise men have in the past predicted for her. 

The followiog figures will illustrate the movement in property transfers for 
the current year : 

Transactions in Real Estate in Norfolk County, and the Cities of 
Norfolk and Portsmouth During the Year 1890, are Recorded as 
Follows : 

In Norfolk County $3,801,003 00 

In Norfolk City 3,540,695 00 

In Portsmouth City 734,900 00 

Total 17,076,598 00 

It is estimated that the. sales of land in Norfolk County for the year, and 
represented in the above table, reached about 8,500 acres. 

assessment of real estate in NORFOLK CITY FOR THE YEAR 1890 COM- 
PARED WITH THAT MADE in 1885. 

IN 1890. 

NOBFOIiK CITY (FOUR OLD WARDS.) 

Value of land. $ 9,435,661 

Value of buildings 7,134,688 

$16,560,849 

ATIiANTIC CITY WARD. 

Value of land $ 1,419,180 

Value of buildings 151,350 

$ 1,570,430 



iS 

BRAMBLETON WARD. 

Value •f land ....$ 1,237,191 

VaUie of buildings 557,220 

$ 1,794,411 

Total value of land $12,092,03-' 

Total value of buildings 7,833,158 

$19,925, IPO 
Assessed value of real estate in eity of Norfolk $19,925,190 

COMPAKED WITH 1885. 

Four old wards, new assessment $16,560,349 

Four old wards, old assessment 12,307,130 

Inci-ease in five years in four wards $ 4,253,219 

Add new assessment in the new wards, given above in detail 3,364,841 

Total increase of taxable values in five years $ 7,618,060 

The following is a comparative statement of the taxable values as between 
1890 and the assessment for 1891 : 

Four wards (new assessment for 1891) $16,560,349 

Taxable real estate value 1890 12,785,395 

Increase $ 3.774,954 

Brambleton (new assessments for 1891) 1,794,411 

Assessments 1890 1,082,730 

Increase $ 711,691 

Atlantic City (new assessment for 1889) $ 1,570,430 

Assessments 1889 57,370 

Increase , $ 1,033,060 

Total increase of the assessment for 1891 over values of 1890 $ 5,519,705 

Total state and city taxes, $2.20 per $100 of value, (city $1.60, water 20c, state 40c.) 

CITY REVENUE COMPARED. 

For taxes. Licenses. 

In 1890 $285,556.31 $74,677.84 

In 1884 236,352.64 54,087.90 

Increase $49,203.67 $20,589.94 



XORFOLK'S ACREAGE. 



Prior to the annexation of the two Wards now known as Bram- 
bleton and Atlantic City, the acreage of the city was, upon the au- 
thority of City Engineer W. T. Brooke, 88o acres. In 1887 Bram- 
bleton added 340 acres, and in 1890 Atlantic City gave an additional 
1,250 acres. Total acreage of the present city is therefore 2,470, or 
within a fraction of four square miles. 



19 
OUR RAILROADS AND XHHIR COB(NHCXIONS. 



The following railroads, alphabetically arranged, practically terminate in 
Norfolk. Those that have planted their depots in the suburbs reach the city 
by their own special ferry and barge connections : 

THE ATLANTIC AND DANVILLE RAILROAD, 

from Portsmouth to Danville, Va., via Suffolk, Franklin, Courtland and 
Belfield, to Danville, Va., and now extending their line west of the latter 
city to Bristol, Tenn. 

THE CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILROAD, 

from Norfolk by steamer to Newport News, thence to Richmond, Charlotts- 
ville, Staunton, the principal Virginia and West Virginia springs, Hunting- 
ton, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago, and all points west and southwest, and 
connects with the Southern Pacific railroad. 

THE EASTERN CAROLINA DISPATCH, 

from Norfolk to Newberne, Kinston, Gloldsboro. and all points reached by the 
Atlantic and North Carolina railroad by steamer to Washington, N. C, and 
landings on the Tar river. 

THE NORFOLK AND WESTERN RAILROAD, 

from Norfolk to Suffolk, Petersburg, Lynchburg, Roanoke, Bristol, and all 
points south and west via East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia railroad, with 
connections at Suffolk with the Seaboard and Roanoke, the Atlantic and Dan- 
ville, Norfolk and Carolina, and west as far as Kansas City. Other connections 
at Waverly with the Atlantic and Danville railroad ; at Pe tersburg with the 
Atlantic Coast Line ; At Lynchburg with the Virginia Midland ; at Roanoke 
with Shenandoah Valley ; at Burkville with Richmond and Danville. Ex- 
tensions from Radford to Pocahontas ; from Pulaski City to Ivanhoe ; from 
Glade Spring to Saltville. 

THE NORFOLK AND CAROLINA, 

from Norfolk to Tarboro, a part of the Atlantic Coast Line system, reaching 
via Tarboro, Goldsboro Wilson, Fayetteville and Raleigh, Wilmington, 
Charleston, Savannah, and points in South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, 
with branches to Scotland Neck, Greenville, Plymouth and Kinston, N. C, 
connecting with all points on the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. 

THE NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA AND NORFOLK, 

via -Cape Charles to Wilmington, Chester, Philadelphia and New York. All 
interior Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania points, with connections 
east and west over the Pennsylvania railroad, of which this is a favorable 
connection. 

THE SEABOARD AIR LINE SYSTEM OF RAILROADS 

is composed of the Seaboard and Roanoke, Raleigh and Gaston, B&leigh and 



^6 

Augusta, Carolina Central, Durham and Northern and Georgia, Carolina and 
Northern Railroads, with branches from Franklinton to Louisburg, N. C, 
from Moncure to Pittsborough ; from Cameron to Carthage, and from Hamlet 
to Gibsons, and gives Noriolk direct connectioDS with Weldon, Henderson, 
Durham, Raleigh and all points on the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Rail- 
road, Wadesboro, Monroe, Charlotte, Lincolnton, Shelby and Rutherfordton, 
N. C, and Chester, Clinton, Greenwood and Abbeville, S. C; also Augusta, 
Atlanta and Macon, Ga., and all parts in the South. 

THE NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILROAD, 

from Norfolk to Elizabeth City, connecting with steamers for the Pesqiiotank 
and Alligator Rivers. At Eden ton, steamer Plymouth for all points on the 
Roanoke River and by steamer Roberts for all points on the Scuppernong and 
Chowan Rivers. 

THE OCEAN VIEW RAILROAD. 

This road runs Irom Norfolk to Ocean View, a favorite summer resort on 
the Chesapeake Bay, eight miles from the city. A good hotel, fine bathing 
and fishing, and many thousands frequent it from May to September. 

THE VIRAINIA BEACH RAILROAD. 

From Norfolk, eighteen miles to the Atlantic Ocean, at Virginia Beach, 
five miles south of Cape Henry. The finest sand beach on the coast only a 
hundred yards from the hotel piazza. Surf bathing in all its purity and 
stimulating effects, fishing, hunting and boating on the lake immediately in 
rear of hotel. Beautiful shade, lovely promenading grounds and numerous 
private cottages. 



OCEAN, BAY ANO RIVER I.INES. 



The following lines by water transportation have a home in this Harbor 
and for many years identified with this port. Many of them have grown 
from small beginnings to great power and wealth through their connections 
with our railroads which transfer both ways their freights to destination : 

The BAY LINE, from Norfolk to Baltimore, 

William Randall, Agent. 

The OLD DOMINION S. S, CO., from Norfolk to New York, 

CuLPEPER & Turner, Agents. 

The CLYDE LINE, from Philadelphia to Norfolk, 

Jas. W. McCaarrick, Agent. 

The CLYDE NORTH CAROLINA LINE, 

Jas. W. McCarrick, Agent. 

The OLD DOMINION AND NORTH CAROLINA LINE, 

CuLPEPER & Turner, Agents. 



21 . 

The OLD DOMINION VIEGINIA LINE, 

CuLPEPER & Turner, Agents. 

The MERCHANTS AND MINERS TRANSPORTATION CO., 

Richard H. Wright, Agent. 

The VIRGINIA STEAMBOAT CO., 

Jas. W. McCarrick, Agent. 

The INLAND SEABOARD COASTING CO., to Washington, D. C, 

Jas. W. McCarrick, Agent. 

The POTOMAC STEAMBOAT CO., to Washington, D. C, 

V. D. Groner, Agent. 

The PETERSBURG AND NORFOLK STEAMBOAT CO., 

W. L. WiLKiNSOJs, Agent. 

Numerous other lines navigating the waters of Virginia, and penetrating 
North Carolina, are known as Bennett's, Jones', Harbinger's, Johnson's, 
Roanoke, Norfolk and Baltimore, etc., forming close connection with 
scores of towns and villages having Norfolk as their trading point. 

CANALS. 

The Albermarle and Chesapeake Canal, with only one lock, 210x40 feet, 
connecting this port with the rivers and sounds of North Carolina through 
to Florida, is a valuable feeder, and brings to this market millions of ton- 
nage of lumber and farm products that cannot otherwise reach or bear land 
transportation. Franklin Weld, President. 



A XO^^l^J I:N 1680 — A BOROUOH IP^ 1736— A CITY 

IN 1845. 



From the fourth edition of "Norfolk as a Business Centre," issued in 1884, 
we learn that the name Norfolk was originally bestowed upon the district, 
afterwards county, by one Col. Thorogood, one of the earliest settlers, in honor 
of his native country in England, and a similar sentiment of patriotism 
would appear to have suggested the designation of other towns and localities 
in Virginia which abounds in names borrowed from the mother country. We 
learn, also, from the same source, that the General Assembly of the State in 
1680 authorized the purchase of fifty acres of land for the "town" of Norfolk 
and in pursuance of this authority a tract which forms the northwestern 
portion of the present city was purchased in 1682 for 10,000 pounds of to- 
bacco, from Nicholas Wise, a carpenter, whose father had acquired some rep- 
utation as a local ship builder. 

From that time forward the town appears to have enjoyed a long period of 
almost uninterrupted prosperity, during which the population continued to 



22 

increase and multiply and her commercial influence to expand, for in Sep- 
tember, 1736, she was formally incorporated by Royal Charter, as a Borough, 
with a mayor, recorder and eight aldermen. 

Such has been written of the early history of Norfolk. Her share of the 
horrors of the revolution, and the war of 1812, are matters of history, and 
need not be repeated here. 

In 1787 a charter was obtained by the States of Virginia and North Caro- 
lina under which the Dismal Swamp Canal was commenced in 1787, and 
opened for navigation in 1828. In 1801 the navy yard on the Portsmouth 
side of our inner harbor was established, the land being ceded by the Gov- 
ernor of Virginia to the United States Government by authority of the Gen- 
eral Assembly. In 1804 Tom Moore, "Erin's sweetest poet," visited Norfolk, 
and subsequently embalmed in verse the famous "Lake Drummond, That 
Mighty Reservoir of Water in the Great Dismal Swamp." 

The visit of General Lafayette to Norfolk in 1824 was the occasion of much 
social entertainment, and great honors were paid to this conspicuous friend 
of the American Republic. 

The centennial of Norfolk's incorporation as a Borough was duly cele- 
brated in 1836, and on February 13th, 1845, by an act of the General Assem- 
bly, Norfolk's charter was amended and she became a city with all its honors, 
privileges and responsibilities. 

AS SEEN BY OXHER EYES XHAN OURS. 



So much has been written by non-residents of Norfolk to the journals of 
other cities, about its growth and prospects, and the abundant opportunities 
here for the investment of capital, that we have been constrained to reproduce 
a few of these letters to give additional force to what we have ourselves 
written. Disinterested praise will go further with some readers than that 
which has the suspicion of self-interest. 

We, therefore, commend these letters to the careful perusal of every one 
who turns these pages for light and information about Norfolk and its vicinity. 



The Harbor of Norfolk. — Lieu't. Henry H. Barroll, U. S. N., in charge 
of the branch Hydrographic office in Norfolk, has, by special request, con- 
tributed to this report an article upon the harbor of Norfolk. Of course, the 
writer, who is a keen observer and has had experience, by reason of his posi- 
tion and intellectual attainments in various portions of the world, sees, and 
is willing to commit to print his own impressions of this great harbor. 



23 



— FOR — 

Land and IjMProvkmknt 
coivlpanies. 



In the Corporation and Circuit Court records for the city we find 
the following Charters granted during the year 1890. All enquiries 
addressed to the Presidents of these Companies at the Norfolk P. O. 
will receive prompt reply : 



NAME OF COMPANY. 



CAPITAL. 



PRESIDENT. 



The A-tlantic Improvement Co., ' 
The Atlantic and Chesapeake Real 

Estate Association, ; 

The Atlantic City Improvement Co., ' 

The Brambleton Heights Co., 
The Bedford Park Land Co., 
The Bedford City Development Co., 

The Chesapeake Land Co., 

The Commonwealth Realty Co., ' 

The Central Land Co., 

The Cape Henry Park and Land Co., 

The Eureka Co., 

The Eastern Branch Improvement Co., 

The East Norfolk Land and Improve- 
ment Co., 

The Elizabeth Land and Improve- 
ment Co., 

The East Virginia Land and Improve- 
ment Co., 

The Glasgow Development Co., 
The Investment Co., of Norfolk, 
The Lambert's Point Improvement Co., 
The Lambert's Point Co., 
The Lambert's Point Land and De- 
velopment Co., 
The Lambert's Point Development Co., 
The Lambert's Point Co. of Norfolk, 
The Land Investment Co., of Norfolk, 
The Lambert's Point Water Front Co., 
The Lambert's Point Land Co., 

The North Brook Land Co., 
The Norfolk Co., 

The Norfolk Water Front Develop- 
ment Co., 



50,000 00 D. Lowenberg. 

500,000 00 ! W. D. Pender. 
50,000 00 L. H. Shields. 



50,000 00 
100,000 00 
100,000 00 

50,000 00 
300,000 00 
175,000 00 
300,000 00 

25,000 00 
100.000 00 



L. H. Shields. 
Walter F. Irvine. 
O. M. Styron. 

Foster Black. 
A. E Campe. 
J. A. Welch. 
R. H. Baker. 

Fergus Reid. 
W. A. Wrenn. 



50,000 00 F. D. Pinkeiton. 



300,000 00 

100,000 00 

750 000 00 

300,000 00 

25,000 00 

200,000 00 

100,000 00 
100,000 00 
300,000 00 
300 000 00 
300,000 00 
75,000 00 

100,000 00 
5,000,000 00 



William Pannill. 

George D. Pleasant. 

Barton Myer?. 
Barton Myers. 
C. W. Fentress. 
William Lamb. 

Granville Gaines, 
W. R. Marbcrry. 
Barton Myers. 
C.A. Nash. 
Barton Myers. 
William Lamb. 

George R. Dunn. 
John H. Dingee. 



300,000 00 : Barton Myers. 



24 



NAME of COMPANY. 


CAPITAL. 


PRESIDENT. 


The Norfolk and Lambert's Point 




Land Co., 1 


100,000 00 


B. Moor maw. 


The Norfolk Manufacturing Co., 


50,000 00 


E. Campe. 


The Norfolk Investment Co., 


50,000 00 , 


E. V. White. 


The North Norfolk Co., 


500,000 00 


Jno. M. Littig. 


The Norfolk Suburban Land Co., 


15,000 00 


H. L. Page. 


The National Investment Co., 


300,000 00 


Geo. T. Scott. 


The Norfolk Industrial Development 






Co., 


1,000,000 00 


Barton Myers. 


The Norfolk and Lambert's Point Co., 


100,000 00 


L. H. Shields. 


The North Roanoke Land and Im- 






provement Co., 


50,000 00 


Jas. S. Simmons. 


The Norfolk Rolleston C(.). 


50,000 00 


Jas, W. Gerow. 


The Norfolk and Eastern Investment 






Co., 


1,000,000 00 


John Q. Hoyt. 


The Northeast Norfolk Land Co., 


500,000 00 


M. Umstadter. 


The Norfolk Development Co., 


100,000 GO 


L. D. Smith. 


The Norfolk Terminal Land Co., 


500,000 00 


J. T. Fitzgerald. 


The Old Dominion Investment Co., of 






Newport News, 


100,000 GO 


L. P. Stearnes. 


The River Front Laud Co. . 


100,000 00 ^ 


V. D. Groner. 


The River View Land Co., 


150,000 00 


Charles R. Nash. 


The Rock Creek Co., 


150,000 00 


T. S. Garnett. 


The South Norfolk Land Co., 


50,000 00 


C. G. Joynes. 


The South Portsmouth Land and Im- 


50,000 00 


F. Richardson. 


provement Co., 






The Seaboard Land and Development 

»Co., 
The Safety Land Co., 


100,000 00 


i Waller Sharp. 


200,000 00 


Thos. Pannill 


The South Border Investment Co., 


300,000 00 


: J. Taylor Ell y son. 


The South Norfolk Investment Co., 


■ 300,000 00 


I J. W. Perry. 


The Virginia and Kentucky Improve- 






ment Co., 


50.000 00 


' Barton Myers, 


The Virginia Investment Co., 


50,000 00 


E. V. White. 


The Virginia Land Co. of Bedford, 


150,000 00 


Mills L. Eure. 


The WeBt Atlantic City Land Co , 


25,000 00 


; Fred M. Killam. 


The West Portsmouth Land Co., 


50,000 00 


F. Richardson. 


The West End Real Estate Co., of 






Norfolk, 


1 300,000 00 


\ Geo. R. Dunn. 



^5 
HYGIENE AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 



By special request the following article is furnished for publication 
in this report. It is prepared with care by a close student and ob- 
server of all matters relating to hygienic and climatology, whose able 
help was invited by the late Dr. A. Y. P. Garnett, U. S. A., at Wash- 
ington, D. C, to furnish the data for this portion of tidewater Vir- 
ginia for the American Climatological Society in 1888. 

Dr. Jackson has resided in Norfolk for twenty-five years, and en- 
joys a large practice, and a high place in the profession, as a man of 
learning and scientific iattainments. 

As ex-President and Honorary Fellow of the Virginia State Med- 
ical vSociety, member of the American Medical Association and of 
the Ninth International Medical Congress, he is fully qualified to 
treat of the matters which are herewith furnished in behalf of his 
adopted home. 



Norfolk, Va., December 15th j 1890. 
SAMUEL R. BORUM, Esq., 

Secretary and Sujjermtendent Chamber of Commerce : 

My Dear Sir: — I, with pleasure, comply with your request to furnish yon 
sucli facts with regard to the climate and health of Norfolk, as may be "of in- 
terest to persons at a distance who maj^ contemplate a removal to this city 
for business or pleasure." 

To do this seems hardly necessary at this time, for, judging from the 
crowds of people who frequent our places of resort, it might be supposed that 
our delightful climate was appreciated, and that our northern friends had be- 
come satisfied as to the healthfulness of this locality. 

Persons living in the same latitude as Norfolk, but at a distance from the 
Atlantic coast, could hardly realize and, without a study of the causes, would 
find it difficult to understand the mildnees of our climate as compared with 
their own. 

The influencefof the. water is well understood here, for vegetation is much 
earlier on those farms which are directly located on the edge of. streams ; and 
for trucking purposes, such farms are afways most in demand. 

It may be asked "Why has the water so much effect on the climate and 
vegetation?" It is owing not so much to our proximity to the Gulf Stream 
as it is to the eddies from that great "ocean river," which are caused by the 
impediment to the northward flow of its western edge, which is produced by 
the great rush of water from the Chesapeake Bay and from all of its tributaries 



26 

through the narrow gate -way between the Virginia capes. This immense 
body of water must have sufficient momentum to force it far out to sea, and 
thus by heading off the current of the western (which in this latitude is the 
warmer) edge of the Gulf Stream, it causes a reflection of this warm water to 
our coast and into all the bays and estuaries with which it is indented. This 
is the reason why such myriads of wild fowl, ducks, geese and swan migrate 
to this region on the appearance of winter. And the migration of these 
birds, one might suppose, would furnish a suggestion to human beings as to 
the best localities for resort in order to escape the rigors of winter. The Gulf 
Stream is nearer to the American coast between Capes Hatteras and Henry 
than anywhere else, and this proximity, together with the eddies above alluded 
to, afford a satisfactory explanation of the mildcess of our climate. 

After leaving the Virginia capes this mysterious current trends rapidly to 
the east, until when opposite the New Jersey coast it is four or five times the 
distance from its shore than it is from the Virginia coast. The farther north 
it goes the greater its divergence from the American shore, and after more 
than 2,000 miles of travel, during which it must have spent a large amount of 
its heat, it reaches the Irish coast with sutlflcient warmth retained to rend"er 
that far off northern region the beautiful green spot that it is. But for the 
heat derived from this source, instead of being the ''Emerald Isle," Ireland 
would be as cold and barren as Labrador or Greenland. But the genial in- 
fluence of the Gulf Stream is felt even still further north than this. It can 
be traced as far as the coast of Norway, upon which it has made possible the 
location of the most northerly city on the globe, (Hammerfest) in latitude 
70° 40^. the water of whose harbor is never frozen. 

It can readily be understood, then, that such a region, with a climate so 
mild as seldom to be colder than 16° above zero, where ice but seldom forms, 
where snow, if it falls at all, lies but a few hours on the ground; a region, 
almost surrounded by water which has been warmed, as explained above: by 
water whose vapo. is surcharged with oxygen ; a region contiguous io the 
great cypress and juniper forests of the Dismal Swamp, and to the ozone-pro- 
ducing pine forests of tide water Virginia and eastern North Carolina, and 
finally that such a region would be a most favorable locality for persons liable 
to pulmonary disease. However much the highlands of Colorado may be 
vaunted as the place for consumptives, my own experience warrants me in 
declaring that I would rather take my chances here than so close to the line 
of perpetual snow as are those elevated localities, and I believe we can furnish 
a better showing than they in the treatment of this class of diseases. 

It is well known to us that Norfolk has had the reputation abroad of being 
an unhealthy place. This impression, as unreasonable as it is unfortunate, 
was produced by a sickness among some troops who, during the war of 1812, 
were stationed at what was then a very unhealthy locality some miles from 
Norfolk, and also by the disastrous importation of yellow fever in 1855, by 
which latter epidemic the city lost some two thousand of her inhabitants. 
Thi3 would have ruined the prospects of Norfolk but for the fact that it was 



. 27 

known that the disease was imported and had not been generated here ; and 
further, that the subsequent winter proved sufficiently severe to destroy the 
last vestige of the disease so that it has never revived since, and will never re- 
appear unless through carelessness or inadvertence of the health authorities. 

That Norfolk suffered many years ago from m-alarial diseases cannot be 
doubte:!, and a little reflection and a comparison of the condition of things at 
that time with that of the present, will explain the cause of the prevalence 
then as well as the present immunity from this class of diseases. 

When Noi folk was first located, as is the case with every town near the 
water, the higher points of land nearest the water's edge were selected for oc- 
cupation. The desire for water fronts caused the city to grow mostly at the 
water's edge The filling up of low places at the shore cut ofi" from the tide 
depressions aM^ay from the water, and converted what had been inlets 
into stagnant ponds, and these furnished the most favorable nidi for the ma- 
larial poison. Since the city has grown beyond these ponds and has reached 
the higher background these sources of infection are entirely removed, and at 
this time it may be safely declared that the malarial poison is not generated 
within the city limits, and, indeed, for some distance beyond. 

It has been my habit for some years to inquire into the history of every 
case of malarial fever occurring in my practice, and it is seldom the case that 
I fail to trace the disease to some locality distant from the city. Not only has 
the filling up of the depressions alluded to contributed largely to the health of 
the city, but also the admirable systeir. of sewerage, which has only been com- 
pleted within tvro years, hius had much to do in diminishing the death rate, 
which, at this time, compares most favorably with the healthiest cities of this 
or any other country. In corroboration of this statement let us refer to the 
statistics of the past year, which is really the first year the sewerage could 
have had effect upon the health of the city. 

The number of deaths per thousand of population for t' year ending July 
1st, 1890, was 21.77; of whites the number per thousand for the same period 
was 16.90; of colored, 28.22 per thousand. The large excess of deaths among 
the colored people is w^ell understood by those who are familiar with their 
mode of life. Their uncleanly habit.'', the want of ventilation, and the total 
exclusion of sunlight from their dwellings are the chief factors in causing the 
production of their high death rate. For these reasons the death rate 
of the whites should only enter into the calculation ; and this we 
see is now at the low rate of 16.5 per thousand for the year 1890. 

Let us now sum up the conditions which are found to exist here, and which 
render Norfolk not only a desirable and pleasant place of residence, but also 
a valuable health resort. 

1st. A comparatively equable climate, with less range of temperature than 
any locality east of the Rocky Mountains 

2d. A delightful winter climate, about the temperature of Georgia or 
northern Louisiana, having about the same winter isotherm as Shreveport. 

Bd, A delightful summer elimate, go cooled by the southeast sea breeze as 



28 

to make our summer isotherm about that of Kansas City. There is no need of 
leaving Norfolk in order to escape the heat of summer. I have suffered more 
from heat in New Tork than I have ever done in Norfolk. 

4th. The prevalence of sea breezes containing an excess of oxygen, which 
are peculiarly grateful, valuable and beneficial to those consumptiveis who 
suffer from dyspnoea. 

5th. Our proximity to the great pine forests of eastern Virginia and North 
Carolina, which are found to be generators of ozone, (an allotropic form of 
oxygen) one of the most valuable conditions for consumptives. 

6th. Our proximity to the Gulf Stream, which contributes to our charming 
winter, not only by the breezes which, after being warmed by its surface bears 
its delightful temperature to us, but also by its eddies which actually lave our 
shores. 

7th. Our winter climate, though not severe, is sufficiently cold to destroy 
disease producing germs, for in no instance has yellow fever been known to 
live through the winter so as to revive on the reappearance of warm weather. 

In addition to what I have written here I beg leave to refer you to a com- 
munication contributed by me at the request of a committee of the American 
Climotalogical Association, which is included in the report of Dr. A. Y. P. 
Garnett, of Washington, to that national society. 

These papers discuss the points contained in this communication more 
fully than I have been able to do at this time, and in addition furnish most in- 
teresting and valuable comparisons of the climate of Norfolk with that of 
other points on the Atlantic coast. 

Hoping that this may serve your purpose, and will direct attention to this, 
the finest climate east of the Rocky Mountains, I am 

Yours truly, S. K. Jackson,. M. D. 

P. S. 

Since writing the above I happened to glance at the weather map issued 
by the signal bureau for this day, December 18th, which so fully confirms the 
assertions made by me that I cannot forbear extending my communication for 
the purpose of copying from it some of its figures. I wish I could reproduce 
the whole map. 

The .isothermal line passing through Norfolk is marked 40°; after 
leaving this city it passes through the following places, at all of which the 
temperature is just the same, viz., 40°: First Lynchburg, then it dips south 
and passes off the coast above "Wilmington, N. C, (which is 38°) then sweeps 
to S. W., crosses Florida south of Jacksonville, (which is 38°) then west 
across the northern edge of the Gulf of Mexico, strikes the land between New 
Orleans (44°) and Mobile, (32°) rises toward the northwest through Shreve- 
port, dips rapidly south into Texas considerably to the east of Pio Grande 
City, whose temperature is as low as 34°, 6° below Norfolk's. This map en- 
ables us to compare Norfolk's temperature with other cities to the south of us 
and the statement may astonish those who have not paid attention to this sub- 
ject. The temperature of Norfolk and all the places mentioned as being on 



^9 , 

the same isothermal line is 40°, Wilmington, N. C, 38°; Charleston, S. C, 38°; 
Augusta, 38°; Atlanta, 32°; Savannah, 38°; Jacksonville, 38°; Montgomery, 
32°; Meridian, 32°; Vicksburg, 30°; Memphis, 34°; Cairo, in the same latitude 
as Norfolk, 28°; Nashville, 36°; Knoxville, 32°; Charlotte, 38°; Mobile, 32°. 
The only localities recorded as higher than Norfolk are Hatteras, 42 °; Titus- 
ville, Fla., 42°; Jupiter, in southern part of Florida, 48°; New Orleans, 44°; 
San Antonia, 48°; Corpus Christi, 42°; Brownsville, 46°; Palestine, La., 46°. 

This is a most remarkable showing, but the same may be seen to be the 
case often during the winter. 

On this day, December 18th, 1890, whose record is given above, occurred 
the clearing up of a N. E. storm, which was hardly recognized as such at 
Norfolk. But little rain and no snow fell during its passage over us, while 
some 100 or 150 miles to the west of us the severest snow storm occurred since 
that of 1857. While we have not seen a flake of snow we see accounts of the 
crushing in of houses, of the blocking up of roads, and of numerous houses 
snowed in, from the Shenandoah Valley and west to the Ohio river. 

On the coast to the north of us immense damage is reported, as on the New 
Jersey coast, at Long Branch, Asbury Park and Atlantic City. Houses are 
reported to be either surrounded by water or washed out to sea, and large 
portions of the several health resorts are reported submerged. Truly we have 
cause to be thankful, for no such disaster on our coast has been reported. 

Equally interesting and important is another report which has just been 
brought to my attention. It contains some statistics furnished by Rev, Dr. 
Barten, on the occurrence of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his rectorship of 
Christ Church. Though it is the report of but one parish, it may be taken as 
an index of all others in the city, and is well worth reproducing : 

In the twenty-five years there were 1,152 funerals, as follows: Under 1 
year, 214 ; 1 to 10, 155 ; 10 to 20, 39 ; 20 to 30, 110 ; 30 to 40, 128 ; 40 to 50, 
130 ; 50 to 60, 115 ; 60 to 70, 96 ; 70 to 80, 103 ; 81 to 90, 52 ; 90 to 92, 2 ; 94 to 
95, 1 ; 96, 1 ; 98, 1 ; 99, 1. By this showing of the 1,152 deaths, 165 of them 
were persons over 70 years of age, or 14.3 per cent. 

This is a most favorable exhibit, and needs no comment. 

S. K. Jackson, M. D. 



COASX DE:FHI!^SKS — CHESAFKAKB BAY. 



BY HON. MARSHALL PARKS 



Since the introduction of modern war ships and heavy ordnance our old- 
fashioned stone forts are no longer able to defend the seaport cities, and they 
are at the mercy of any second rate power. 

The defense of the Chesapeake is the only protection to our national cap- 
ital and the numerous cities and towns that are on the rivers that flow into 
the Bay, It would seem, therefore, that the proper place for defence should 



30 

be at the "gates of the ocean." Cape Henry and Cape Charles are only ten 
miles apart, but there are many shoals on the Cape Charles side, and heavy 
jaden ships must enter near Cape Henry. It is proposed to remove tlie Rip 
Raps, Fort (Calhoun- Wool,) as it is no longer necessary for an adjunct to 
Fortress Monroe, and transplant it on the middle ground between Cape 
Henry and Cape Charles, about six miles distant from the former, and erect 
upon it a modej'n steel clad structure, mounted with the heaviest guns, and 
so arranged to furnish shelter for a few small torpedo boats; to build at Cape 
Henry earth works fortifications and unite them with submarine cables hav- 
ing all the latest appliances for submarine batteries. Lynn Haven river, close 
under Cape Henry, may be made a central station for torpedo boats to assist 
in the defence. 

Should the enemy attempt to land any where south along the coast, by the 
construction of a few short canals and removal of a few shoals in the natural 
waterways, these torpedoes and mortar boats may proceed as far south as 
Florida without going one mile in the ocean. 

If the mortar and torpedo boats should be required north they may pro- 
ceed up Chesapeake Bay and through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal ^o 
Philadelphia and thence by Delaware and Raritan Canal to New York and, 
if required on the Lakes, go to Oswego or Buffalo by the Erie Canal. 

The old tower formerly used as a light-house at Cape Henry could have 
an electric search light placed upon it. 



XHH HARBOR OF I^ORFOI^K, VIRGINIA. 



BY HENRY H. BARROLL, LIEU'T. U. S. NAVY. 



Norfolk, owing to its fortanate geographical position, is necessarily one of 
the most important shipping points on the Atlantic coast. As regards safety 
and facility of access, it has no superior among the Northern ports ; while 
those farther southward do not in any degree compare with it in either of the 
above advantages. 

The Gulf Stream, transporting immense volumes of tropically heated 
water, flowing north, is breasted off to the eastward by Cape Hatteras, 
Experience shows that the cyclonic storms, occurring during the months of 
July, August and September, have a tendency to re-curve to the eastward in 
latitudes varying from 28° to 32° north — Cape Hatteras being in about 35°. 
and Cape Henry in about 87°, north latitude. ' 

The warm atmosphere resting above the surface of the Gulf Stream is met 
by the cold air- walls, borne in waves from .the northwest, producing gales, 
squalls or stormy weather ; and causing the 'passage of Cape Hatteras to be 
generally attended with more or less difficulty and danger. 

Norfolk furnishes the first secure harbor to the northward of this cape, and 



31 

also a safe outlet through which all of the vast inland commerce, arriving 
from below this point, may seek the ocean. 

Water carriage will ever hold the supremacy over transportation by any 
other means. As regards her advantages in this respect, Norfolk can claim 
to be one of the most favored cities in the United States. 

The broad entrance to Chesapeake Bay, a body of water which, for com- 
mercial purposes has no equal, allows vessels under either steam or sail to 
readily enter Hampton Roads, where is found the largest and safest harbor 
south of New York. The James and Elizabeth rivers, here meeting, form a 
triangular estuary in which large fleets of merchant shipping may, through- 
out the most violent gales, safely ride at anchor. 

There is a 36 -foot channel, well marked with buoys and lighthouses, and 
varying in width from 100 to 1,000 yards, which leads from the entrance of 
Chesapeake Bay to the wharves of Norfolk, and also beyond, to the United 
States Navy Yard. It is well to particularly notice this, since, notwithstand- 
ing the dredging of this channel at great expense, by the national govern- 
ment, still foreign shippers are not generally aware of its existence. 

There are thirty-two pilots allowed by the state law, and the authorized 
pilotage is smaller than that of any other port in the United States, being 
from $2.50 to |4.50 per foot, according to the vessel's draught. 

Two important water-ways — the Dismal Swamp Canal and the Albermarle 
and Chesapeake Canal — connect the North Carolina Sounds with Chesapeake 
Bay, making a part of that system of inland navigation which extends from 
Beaufort and Newberne, North Carolina, to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New 
York, and if so desired, to the great Northern Lakes. 

These water-ways are arteries, through which flow from the Albermarle 
and Pamplico Sounds, and their tributary streams, the varied commercial 
products of Eastern North Carolina, and territory even farther south and 
west. 

Until our attention is directed to this fact, we fail to realize the extent to 
which these inland passages are used; but a glance at the statistics of Nor- 
folk's lumber and stave trade will give an idea of their importance, when we 
reflect that, substantially, the entire supply of timber introduced into the 
Norfolk market, may be said to arrive through these canals. 

Huge rafts, like immense serpents, wind along, each in tow of a diminitive 
tug, the total expense of which, though slight, is yet sufficient to allow a 
fair profit to the raftsmen as well as to the lumber dealer; while the tugs re- 
turn, having in tow, long lines of schooners loaded with farming machinery 
and other manufactured articles from the workshops of Norfolk and citiei 
further north: 

The James Eiver and Chesapeake Bay naturally deliver their produce at 
Norfolk. These, with their tributary streams, represent a total length of 
1,500 miles of tidal coast. That of the North Carolina Sounds further aug- 
ments this to about 2,500 miles of coast line which, although inland water, ie 
yet daily washed and purified by the salt waves. 



32 

Tbe climate is such an equable one that the three neighboring seaside resorts, 
Old Point Comfort, Virginia Beach and Ocean View, may well declare them- 
selves to be either winter or summer resorts. Tbe thermometer in summer 
ranges between 70° and 90° Fahr., and in winter Birely falls below 20°. 

The mean annual rainfall is about 52 inches, fairly distributed throughout 
the year, about 35 inches being precipitated during that period extending 
from the 1st of March to the 1st of October, the time when the crops are grow- 
ing. Possibly it is due to this tempering of the climate by the Gulf Stream, 
and also to the certainty of an abundance of rain when most needed, that 
Norfolk has become a great trucking centre on the Atlantic coast. Be the 
cause what it may, those persons who have visited all parts of the globe con- 
cur in asserting that here is found a market which is equal to, if not supe- 
rior, to any other market in the world. The market for vegetables, game, 
poultry and fish is always excellent. 

The oyster interest of Chesapeake Bay, though much deteriorated in later 
years, owing to injudicious dredging and insufficient protection, is now being 
better guarded through stringent laws enacted by those states whose int^- 
ests have been so jeopardized, and oyster planting is now being largely re- 
sorted to in order to replace the devastation of the natural beds. Oyster cul- 
ture is more profitable, acre for acre, than the raising of any other article of 
food. Norfolk is the natural centre for this trade, so far as the waters of the 
Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are concerned, and has for her only rival 
the city of Baltimore, a place more difficult of access to the oysterman. 

Already Lambert's Point and Newport News have become the greatest 
coaling stations on the Atlantic coast, while the grade of coal here handled, 
"Pocahontas" produces the finest steaming results, and is preferred by the 
ocean greyhounds in making their great transatlantic races. 

The United States Navy Yard, with its two dry docks and modern steel- 
working machinery, and the recently established ship building plant at New- 
port's News, with a dry dock of greater capacity than any other in America, 
give an assurance of having at all times, in this vicinity plenty of skilled 
workmen and the proper facilities for docking and repairing the largest 
ocean steamships. 

Norfolk stands where each of the several lines of railroad, leading from 
the south and west, finds its earliest and most reliable seaboard terminus. 

Although large cities are sometimes found located inland, as London, 
Paris, etc., yet history shows it to be the invariable rule that at those points 
where there are good harbors, or where large water courses meet the ocean, 
great and populous cities will be established. Norfolk possesses both of these 
advantages, and her fine harbor, with its tributary water communication, as- 
sures to her the fact that she will in the future become the largest city of the 
South. 



33 

VIRGINIA'S HISTORIC CITY. 



BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE NEW YORK EVENING POST, JUNE 

25th, 1890. 

Southern "booms" are suggestive of artificiality in many cases. But the 
good old town of Norfolk, Virginia, which is renewing its youth nowadays 
in a particularly lusty and aggressive manner, cannot be suspected of em- 
ploying the tricks of the professional boomer's trade. Its age protects its 
reputation, and furthermore, the evidences of the solidity of its boom are too 
many and obvious to be gainsaid or belittled. 

There is no reason why Norfolk should not become speedily one of the 
largest, richest and most important cities ot the United States. In fact, in 
the writer's opinion — which is the opinion of a disinterested New Yorker 
who has had occasion to visit Norfolk several times within the last few years, 
and to observe its growth during that period — Virginia's historic "City by the 
Sea" is under full headway towards the realization of that possibility. 

THE NATURAL ADVANTAGES 

in its favor are known to the nation, but not so well known or appreciated as 
they might be ; and what has been done in the recent past in the line of com- 
mercial and social advance is worthy of attention from the business men and 
capitalists of the North, 

Norfolk is the leading seaport of Virginia, and by nature was fitted and in- 
tended for the chief seaport of the South. Its harbor is the best in all re- 
spects on the Atlantic coast, south of New York, and in one important re- 
spect is superior to that of New York— it has no bar. Within twenty-five 
miles of the open ocean, and with a perfectly straight and clear course out 
into deep water, the port is nevertheless so situated as to be completely 
landlocked and protected from storms at all seasons. The Elizabeth river, a 
tidal estuary setting in from the Chesapeake, affords a wide, calm, deep road- 
stead alohg the water front of Norfolk and of its sister city, Portsmouth 
with twenty-five feet of water at the docks, and ample opportunity for load- 
ing and unloading the largest vessels with the utmost ease and dispatch. 

THE TERMINAL FACILITIES ARE EXCELLENT. 

The railways run directly to the water's edge, and freight is transferred to 
vessels with the least possible labor and delay, without the assistance of dray- 
men, lighters, or any other expensive means. Another advantage is the cli- 
mate, which is so mild that outdoor as well as indoor work can be carried on 
without a day's interruption, all' the year round ; and still another is the 
abundance of cheap labor here available. 

THE GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION 

of Norfolk is extremely favorable to its commercial prosperity. A glance at 
the map will show that Norfolk is the natural outlet of the vast region com- 
prising the greater portion of what is generally known as the New South^ 



34 

Louisiana, Texas, southeastern Georgia, Florida and South Carolina may'lind 
it more convenient to export by way of New Orleans, Galveston, Savannah 
and Charleston, but the great coal, iron, tobacco, cotton, lumber, tar and food 
producing regions of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ala- 
bama and upper Georgia naturally seek Norfolk as the nearest good seaport 
on the route from the southwest to the markets in New York, New England, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Europe. Given adequate means of transpor- 
tation, the route by way of Norfolk would afford the smallest possible rail- 
way mileage and the cheapest and best methods ot communication between 
producers and consumers. 

ITS TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 

Norfolk now has nine railroads, and others are in contemplation. Six of 
the nine are important trunk lines, conveying here from the North, the 
West and the South, and most of them have been perfected during the last 
year or two. The imposing Norfolk and Western road, traversing the entire 
southern portion of Virginia, and rendering invaluable aid in the work of 
developing and marketing the rich ores of the Virginia and Tennessee 
mountains. The Seaboard and Roanoke runs down into North Carolina and 
makes important connections at Weldon, Raleigh, etc. The Atlantic and 
Danville is another trunk line running in the same general direction, and is 
intending to make far western connections in the near future. The Norfolk 
and Carolina is a new line tapping the Atlantic coast line in North Carolina, 
and built in the interests of that line and of the West Point Terminal, to se- 
cure for those corporations the advantage of a Norfolk terminus. The Chesa- 
peake and Ohio, the rails of which reach tidewater at Newport News, has 
preferred to establish its official eastern terminus at Norfolk, and makes con- 
nections between those two points by a line of steamboats. Finally we have 
the direct and important connection with the metropolis, known as the New 
York, Philadelphia and Norfolk road, which does an immense business both 
in passenger traffic and in the transportation of truck, farm produce and sea 
food. Besides these there is the Norfolk and Southern, running to Edenton, 
N. C, on Albemarle Sound, a valuable ally of the truck farmers and oystermen 
of one of the most productive portions of the country. The five great lines 
leading to Norfolk from the west and southwest bring hither a heavy freight 
of cotton, coal and mineral ores, and other products of the interior. 

RAILROADS ARE NOT BUILT FOR FUN, 

and those who have invested millions of dollars in the construction of five 
competing lines to Norfolk may be presumed to know what they are about. 
They know, or at least they evidently believe, that Norfolk is destined to be 
a commercial centre of the first rank. They perceive the various natural ad- 
vantages already named, and they look forward to the time when the bulk of 
the exports of the South will come to Norfolk for trans-shipment to Europe 
and to the North, and thus avoid the heavy expense of railway carriage tq 



35 

most Northern ports. In conformity with their views, the commerce of Nor- 
folk, always noteworthy as to volume and value, is now seen to be advancing 
with steady and even rapid strides. The city has daily communication by 
steamer with Richmond, Washington and Baltimore, and almost daily with 
New York. 

ITS INDUSTRIES. 

Norfolk has one grain elevator, two cotton mills, and several machine shops, 
where locomotives, carriages, agricultural implements, etc., are made. The 
cheapness with which coal and iron can be now brought hither points to a 
rapid development of these industries. Another very important factor in the 
business activity of the city and vicinity is the truck farming industry. The 
finest truck farms in the United States are in the suburbs of Norfolk, and their 
savory products find their way regularly to New York, Philadelphia, and 
other great Northern markets within twenty-four or thirty-six hours after 
they are harvested. An analogous industry is the fish and oyster industry of 
Norfolk, which is very extensive, and is connected with the Northern markets 
in like manner. 

Now, thanks to the improved transportation facilities, Norfolk is reaching 
out with her wonderful products to all parts of the country and to the world, 
and the end is not yet — in fact, it is the belief of the best informed authori- 
ties that the city is only at the beginning of a mighty prosperity. 

ITS ATTRACTIONS. 

The condition of the real estate market is usually a good index to the actual 
prosperity of a place. Real estate was cheap and slow a few years ago. The 
change that has taken place within three short years is almost miraculous. 
New life has entered the veins of the citizens. The population has increased 
nearly 60 per cent, since 1880, and now numbers about 40,000. The area of 
the city has been extended lately to more than treble its former size, taking in 
the suburban villages of Brambleton and Atlantic City. On the other side of 
the river Portsmouth and Berkley — practically a part of Norfolk — show simi- 
lar advancement, and new settlements called South Norfolk and West Nor- 
folk have been started. On the Bay and Ocean the beautiful new Summer 
Resorts, Ocean View and Virginia Beach, have contributed to the general 
pleasure and prosperity, and the lands lying alongside the railroads leading to 
those places are in process of rapid development. A large park on the river 
front, similar to the Battery Park in New York, has been ordered by the city 
and will soon be begun. Another park at the East End, involving many pic- 
turesque landscape features, is among the probabilities ; and still another, be- 
yond the present city limits, is talked of. In the northern part of the city, 
between the old and new boundary lines, there will be, ere long, some 

FINE ORNAMENTAL ADDITIONS 

in the way of wide avenues and winding drives, bordered, eventually, doubt- 
less, by handsome residences. In the present fashionable quarter of the city 



36 

a large number of costly new houses in the most modern styles have been 
erected recently, and there is much activity in buildmg this season in all parts 
of the town. The best streets, like Bute, Freemason, etc., are beautiful gardens 
and bowers, with a wealth of towering magnolias, luxuriant roses and all 
manner of lovely trees and flowers. 

The city has been improved radically and incalculably during the last two 
years by the introduction of a thorough system of sewerage, followed by a re- 
paving of the principal streets. Previously there were no sewers at all and 
the pavement was of the poorest kind of cobblestone. Now twenty-two 
miles of sewers afford perfect drainage, and the cobble is rapidly giving place 
to the best kind of block pavement, which is to be laid, eveutually, through 
the main body of the town. 

THE WATER SUPPLY 

Is ample and of excellent quality. The service has been recently reorganized 
in accordance with the most approved modern ideas.- Two years ago the 
supply was only sufficient for 20,000 persons, at the outside, owing to defective 
service. The old apparatus caused a loss of more than 75 per cent, of the 
water power ; but now, since the introduction of new machinery and larger 
pipes the supply is sufficient tor 100,000 persons and the loss is not more than 
10 per cent. For these great improvements Norfolk is, in a large measure, 
indebted to the enterprise and ability of its accomplished City Engineer, Mr. 
William T. Brooke, who has labored incessantly during the last eight years in 
behalf of the city's best interest. Other leading citizens and the city press 
deserve much credit also for their energetic efforts and public spirit. 

ACTIVITY IN REAL ESTATE. 

The effect of all these improvements on the value of real estate has been 
very striking. Three typical cases may be cited. In Brambleton three lots 
which were bought four years ago for $30 apiece were sold, the other day, for 
$900 apiece, and dozens of parallel transactions in that suburb might be men- 
tioned. On Bute street a lot purchased three years ago for $1,500 has just 
been sold for $4,000. In the northern extension of the city a tract of fifty-five 
acres, which was considered almost valueless, and was exchanged for an old 
panorama, worth, perhaps, |500, a few years ago, was recently sold for $90,000, 
and is to be converted into building lots. These are fair illustrations of the 
recent rise in real estate in Norfolk. Outside capital is flowing in to take ad- 
vantage of this activity. Half a dozen companies for the improvement of 
real estate and the institution and encouragement of manufacturers have 
been formed and are busil^^ at work. These companies are composed of cap- 
italists not only of Norfolk, but also of New York, Philadelphia and Eng- 
land, who have learned the facts detailed in this letter, and have acted accord- 
ingly. They know that Norfolk is the greatest lumber, fish and vegetable 
produce centre in the South ; that it is the third cotton port in the country, 
and bids fair to become the second, if not the first ; that it is 



THE TERMINUS OF FIVE GREAT TRUNK LINES 

From the interior ; that its receipts of lumber last year were over 350,000,000 
feet, of meat nearly 20,000,000 pounds, of coal more than l,000,060,and that these 
figures show an increase of about 100 per cent, over those of 1888 ; that the 
population is rapidly increasing, the price of real estate advancing by leaps 
and bounds, and the modernization of the city nearing a complete accom- 
plishment ; that the climate is so balmy and the soil so fertile that two or 
three crops are raised annually with scarce any artificial fertilization ; and, 
finally, that the society of the town is in the highest degree refined and 
agreeable. 

No wonder that strangers and outside capital are now attracted to Norfolk, 
and that her prosperity in these latter days is so much greater than its old 
citizens ever saw or even dreamed of in the times before the Merrimac 
steamed out of the Elizabeth river. 



A NE'W OUXI.ET FOR OHIO. 



C. O. Hunter, Esq., of the law firm of Earnhart, Hunter & Butler, 
of Columbus, Ohio, wrote the following- letter to the Evening- Dis- 
patch, of that city, his observations of this port, as an outlet for 
central Ohio, during a visit to Norfolk and Fortress Monroe, in 
June, 1890: 

Fortress Monroe, JuNe 27. — The absorption of the Scioto Valley Rail- 
way Company by the Norfolk and Western Railroad System is a fact of suf- 
ficient interest to the city of Columbus and central Ohio to at least lead to the 
inquiry of the possible benefits which may follow. That conservative Co- 
lumbus, with her unexcelled natural advantages, her industrious spirit, her 
inexorable push and her financial strength may appreciate the opportunities 
which now lie at her threshold, a few facts by way of education may not here 
be amiss. 

THE NORFOLK AND WESTERN RAILROAD 

system, comprising more than 1,200 miles, is owned and officered by far- 
seeing, enterprising and active people. The railway is subsidiary, or the 
vehicle on which they carry to successful ends the numerous investments 
which they make in undeveloped lands, minerals, timbers, town cites, steam- 
boats and barge interests, terminal, wharf properties, warehouses, grain ele- 
vators, traffic facilities, etc. They ^arrange and manage so that each interest 
feeds, nourishes, supports and strengthens every other. 

The original main line of 408 miles extends between Norfolk and Bristol, 
Tenn., and is now being double-tracked to accommodate the vast volume of 
lumber, coal, iron and cotton freights intended for export, coast and foreign. 
There are many branch lines, with others in progress of construction, and to 



38 

be completed within the coming year. It connects by one branch of the 
road with lines that lead to Wilmington, N. C, and to the southwest; it is 
completing its Clinch Valley extension to a point in Wise county, Va., near 
the Kentucky line, and to connect with the Louisville and Nashville system, 
running from New Orleans to Chicago, and also from the New river south- 
western coal fields division of the road northwestardly to the Ohio river, 
there by bridge to connect with the Scioto and Hocking Valleys, which arc 
arteries into central Ohio, the very heart of the republic. 

The liberal policy of its management has encouraged immigration and in- 
vestment all along its line, and that most promising region of southwestern 
Virginia is now responding everywhere to the touch of capital and enterprise. 

With the Scioto Valley thus absorbed and the Kanawa and Michigan by 
the Chesapeake and Ohio, two additional new rival and dire(;t seaboard 
routes leading to the deepest and most 

COMMODIOUS HARBOR OP THE WORLD. 

So large, indeed, that the entire shipping of the globe could here find a 
haven, having, as she has, a double coast defense through her natural chanHel 
and byway of the Albemarle and Chesapeake canal, connecting Chesapeake 
Bay with Currituck, Albemarle, Pamlico, Cove and Bogue Sounds and their 
tributary streams. 

Norfolk lies on th€ north bank of the Elizabeth river, at the confluence of 
the eastern and western branches of that stream, eight nuies from Hampton 
Roads and twenty- three miles from Capes Charles and Henry, on the Atlantic 
coast. The channel of the river at the city is between 1,000 and 1,200 feet 
wide and twenty -two feet deep, low tide; the current is about one mile^Der 
hour. 

The county of Norfolk has a population of about 100,000 ; upwards of 
60 000 inhabitants residing within the limits of the port of customs, a terri- 
tory comprising Norfolk proper, Brambleton and Berkley, suburbs and Ports- 
mouth, which has a city government of its ov/n. 

For seventeen miles from Craney Island, five miles down from the two 
cities to a point twelve miles up stream from them, the channel averages one 
and a quarter miles in breadth, and with three feet of tide, twenty -five deep 
at low water and twenty-seven at the flood. 

VESSELS OF TWENTY-SEVEN HUNDRED TONS 

measurement can easily come up to the wharves of both Norfolk and Ports- 
mouth, and those of six thousand tons, gross, have entered. As for Hampton 
Roads, the "Great Eastern," leviathan of ships as she^was, found ample sea 
room^in it. 

More than one thousand deep water vessels enter this harbor every year, 
and perhaps one hundred and fifty carry foreign flags. Besides those of the 
port proper, a Liverpool and Brazilian mail line run from Newport News, 
eight miles from Norfolk, and in connection with the Chesapeake and Ohio 
railway. 



39 

The World's Fair bill, as passed Congress, provides that a naval review of 
the ships of this and other nations shall be held in the harbor of New York 
in April, 1893, and that for this purpose they shall rendezvous at Hampton 
Roads before proceeding to New York. 

The cotton export exceeds that of New York. Last year about 500,000 
bales were shipped. The products grown are exceedingly varied, the ground 
easily worked, and modern agriculture unknown. With development this 
country will become 

THE BELGIUM OF AMERICA. 

The feature of the agriculture found about Norfolk is the trucking or grow- 
ing of vegetables for Northern markets. The soil is warm, the climate favor- 
able, the rainfall plentiful. There are about 40,000 acres in this section de- 
voted to trucking. 

THE COUI^XI^Y AI^OUKO P^JOMFOI^K. 



(From "Virginia as She Is," issued 18S9, by the State Board of Agriculture.) 
Norfolk County lies in the southeast corner of the State, bordering on 
Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay, with only one county. Princess Anne, 
between it and the sea. It is about thirty-two miles long, north and south, 
and seventeen miles wide, containing nearly 550 square miles. It is bounded 
on 'the north by Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads, on the east by Princess 
Anne County, on the south by North Caroliija, and on the west by Nanse- 
mond County, Elizabeth River and Hampton Roads. The county is pene- 
trated by several arms of the sea, viz . Tanner's Creek, Broad Creek, Ma- 
son's Creek and Deep Creek which, with the three branches of the Elizabeth 
River, viz : the "Eastern Branch," "Western Branch" and "Southern Branch," 
constitute Si Yei J fine wate?' system, and places each farm in Norfolk County 
within three miles of water transportation. This insures to the Norfolk 
County farmer the cheapest transportation in the world. Two canals connect 
the waters of the Chesapeake with those of the North Carolina sj^stem of 
sounds and rivers, thus making all of eastern North Carolina tributary to 
Norfolk harbor by water. Nine railroads terminate in Norfolk harbor, cut- 
ting Norfolk County in all directions. Wine beautiful shell turnpikes also 
traverse Norfolk County from all points of the compass, centering on our fine 
harbor. Therefore, we may safely claim that the Norfolk County farmer is 
better supplied with transportation facilities than the farmers of any other 
county in the United States. All the streams of water in Norfolk County are 
effected by the tide, the tide ebbing and flowing to the very heads of all the 
streams. I'his constant ebbing and flowing of the tide carries the salt pure 
waters of the ocean twice each twenty-four hours up all these streams, and 
makes it quite impossible for any water to become stagnant or impure. These 
arms of the sea also afl'ord the finest natural drainage known. The excess of 
rainfall running into them without ever doing a dollars worth of damage by 
flood or freshet, Tli& soil of Norfolk County is of two general kinds, viz : a 



40 

clay loam and a sandy loam, all underlaid with a good, substantial clay sub- 
soil. The surface of the county is from eight to twenty feet above the sea 
level. The mean annual rainfall is about fifty-two inches, well distributed 
throughout the year, of which amount about thirty-five inches falls during 
the growing season, sa}'" from the 1st of March to the 1st of October. The 
thermometer ranges in Rummer from 70° to 90°, seldom going to 95° above 
zero, while in winter it never goes below 20° above zero more than on three 
days, all told, during the winter. This cutting off of the two extremes of heat 
and cold is caused by the fact that the country is practically surrounded on 
three sides by salt water, and the water never goes to either extreme, as the 
water temperature is quite uniform throughout the year. '■'The Gulf Stream,'"' 
that great wonder of the Atlantic, which rolls only a few miles off'onr coast, 
on its way to Europe, has a very pleasing efi'ect on our climate, especially on 
our winter climate. Norfolk County annually produces from $2,000,000 to 
$3,000,000 worth of market garden vegetables. The famous Dismal Stcamp is 
on a hillside twenty-seven feet above the level of the sea in this harbor. If a 
wide and deep ditch were dug from tidewater to the lake in the centre of this 
Swamp the water thereof would run out to the sea like a mill race, andHJie 
Swamp would be a thing of the past. This Swamp was surveyed by Wash- 
ington at an early clay, and the famous Dismal Swamp Canal was surveyed 
and located by him, and he owned large tracts in the Swamp. There are no 
waters in the United States so pure as those of this Swamp. G-overnment 
vessels leaving this harbor for long ocean voyages secure this juniper water 
from the Swamp on account of both its medicinal and keeping qualities. In- 
valids who, with rod and gun, go into this Swamp and spend a few weeks or 
months sleeping on juniper boughs, drinking juniper water and inhaling the 
juniper impregnated air rapidly improve in health, appetite and general 
robustness. 



(From Norfolk Landmark, Norember 27, 1890.) 

There are many Virginians so conservative that they bend over backwards 
to keep from leaning a little forward. Progress and growth to them mean ex- 
travagance and inflation. The brilliant prospects which are pictured for their 
state and for their own localities, as well as others, are to them the figments 
of a feverish dream. Nevertheless things move on and the doubt of to-day 
becomes the reality of to-morrow. 

When the question is asked why should not Virginia do what other States 
with no greater natural resources and not so favorable a situation have done, 
there is no answer. No man can say, for there is no reason. On the contrary 
there is every reason why she should do what other States have done, and 
more. Every reason'.why her villages should rapidly grow into towns, her 
towns into cities and her cities into vast metropolitan proportions. 



41 

A writer in the New York Journal of Commerce^ ^ conservative and unim- 
aginative newspaper, discussed, the other day, in an article of some length, 
the comparative advantages of Massachusetts and Virginia in respect to 
development. 

*'What men have done," says he, "men can do again. What Massachusetts 
has done Virginia can do. The Bay State has only one advantage over us. 
Her cold east winds have carried the croaker to the only place cold enough 
and dark enough to make him feel at home. He is dead and buried. He 
croaks no more. So much for a bad climate. In all soberness and truth., 
Massachusetts is superior to Virginia only in the splendid energy and the dar- 
ing business courage of her men. If any man knows of one gift with which 
nature has more richly endowed her than Virginia let him name it. Let us 
compare the two States. In climate the Old Dominion is to the Bay State as 
Paradise is to Purgatory. In the variety of her crops and the generosity of 
her soil, Virginia is unsurpassed ; in harbors and in water power, in timber 
and in the variety of wealth of her mineral deposits, few, if any. States sur- 
pass her. Take all in all, the round world holds no fairer realm. Massachu- 
setts has an area of 8,030 square miles. Virginia has five times as much ter- 
ritory, capable of supporting two men where Massachusetts supports one." 



A VOICB FROM CAMBRIDGE. 



(By Edward Stack, Special Correspondent of the Cambridge, Mass., Tribune, 

October 13th, 1890). 

THE CITY OF NORFOLK. 

The heavy sales of real estate which have taken place in the city of Nor- 
folk within the last few weeks are having the natural effect, and the move- 
ments of real estate are watched closely as well by outside parties as by the 
capitalists within the city. 

When we consider the amount invested by outside parties in Virginia 
within the last seven years— that of Philadelphia alone being upwards of 
$7,000,000— the profitable development of her mineral mountains, the exten- 
sion of the railroad interests of the state, the appreciation of properties, the 
enormous amount of cash paid to mechanics, miners and laboring men, and 
lastly, the great consumption of material for building purposes— considering 
all these facts, do the rise and progress of about twelve young cities show a 
result inconsistent with what might reasonably be expected ? 

My own opinion is that the advance apparent is a conservative result of 
the 

MIGHTY INFLUENCES AT WORK, 

and that the day is not far distant when a greater prosperity will show itself. 
When we cannot rule or foresee the order of events, then our 'wisest course is 
to set our sails to the breezes that blow and go on with the tide. There is a 
great deal of conservatism in Norfolk, but the city must accept the inevitable, 
and represent^by its progress the destiny that awaits the State. Norfolk was 



42 

always a lively city when compared with other large cities of Virginia. Its 
population to- day may be set down at from 35,000 to 40,000, while the imme- 
diate surroundings of Norfolk enable the city to draw benefits from a popu- 
lation of about 60,000. Portsmouth, with nearly 14,000 inhabitants, might 
well be under the same city government, and Berkley is but a suburb of Nor- 
folk. The prosperity of the city to-day is unmistakable. 

EVERY INTEREST IS ADVANCING, 

and shows by figures a cheering ratio in excess of last year's computations. 

Norfolk is deeply interested in the prosperity of Western Virginia, for all 
and any movement increasing the wealth of that portion of the State invigor- 
ates the business life of Norfolk. The coal of Pocahontas is borne to tide 
water at Norfolk, and hundreds of thousands of tons are shipped at the port. 
The cotton traffic alone brings to the city 3,000 bales a day, and the foreign 
cotton fleet keeps the compresses busy even to the working of the machinery 
day aud night. The cotton men expect the receipts of the port to run up to 
700,000 bales this season 

FREEDOM PROM ICE 

in the harbor, deep water and a good anchorage constitute the essentials which 
go to establish a great harbor or shipping port. All these essentials are pos- 
sessed by Norfolk, and though her place to-day as a city is nothing in pro- 
portion to the importance she holds in her harbor, she can proudly look upon 
twenty-five lines of steamers departing each day from her port. In addition 
to these, her land transportation shows her to possess, with ten lines entering 
the city more railroads than Richmond. 
Norfolk has entered upon 

A GREAT CAREER OP PROSPERITY, 

and it is not improbable that the city, under its influence, will grow to a 
population of 100,000 within seven years. All are of the opinion that Nor- 
folk will be the largest city in the State ; there has been no competitor for 
that position but Richmond, and a comparison of the progress in both cities 
leaves little doubt that the opinion pronounced will be fulfilled. 

Gardening for market is carried on extensively all around Norfolk, and the 
^alue of the productions raised forms no small item in the exports. I have 
never seen a city of 100,000 a market as well supplied as I saw the Saturday 
I was in Norfolk. The farmers in this part of Virginia are prosperous. I 
have heard of ane who made 120,000 in one year from 100 acres of land. Of 
course, this is an exception, but it shows what can be done. With such a 
port as that of Norfolk, by its nearness to the centers of population, north 
and eastward, there is no limit to the profitable expansion of such pursuits. 
Two crops are often taken from the same ground under the influence of the 
genial climate of Virginia. 

THE YIELD OP FARM PRODUCTIONS 

shipped from the port of Norfolk for 1890 will, it is etimated, reach the enor- 



43 

mcras amount of $4,500,000. These figures are enough to show the- value of 
farming industries tributary to the city. 

The surveys have been ordered and the wark of construction will soon 
begin on a belt line of railroad to encircle Norfolk, Portsmouth and Berkley, 
connecting all the leading railroad lines, and lurnishing faciliti^ for trans- 
ferring cars to and from these lines and to the various manufactories and 
wharves. This railway will bring all lines centering here into one union depot. 

Norfolk otfers unequalled advantages for the establishment of mechanical 
industries, both large and small. There are already a number here, including 
two cotton factories, with another in course of organization, the last with a 
capital of $300,000 ; shirt factories, basket factories, sash and blind factories, 
fertilizer factories on a large scale, shoe factories, plow works, iron foundries 
and agricultural implement factories, brick yards, a large carriage manufac- 
tory and extensive coffee r< asting and peanut establishments. Negotiations 
are uow being completed for a large steel plant, which will give employment 
to 5,C00 hands. 

MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES 

are to-day seeking for Southern locations, and Norfolk, as a site possessing 
great advantages, cannot be overlooked. The new industries which will be 
immediately instituted will be a car works, the Chesapeake Knitting Mills, a 
cotton factory and flouring mills, which are to cost over $1,000,000, and will 
insure employment to several hundred hands. 

RAILWAY FACILITIES. 

The building of two new and important railroads during the year goes to 
sustain the opinion so Icmg held by many that Norfolk is destined to become 
the great centre of the Atlantic coast ; but the advent of two new roads by no 
means embraces all the acquirements in this direction. The Norfolk and 
Western railroad has contracted ior the extension of its line to the Ohio river, 
including a bridge across that great water highway, and has acquired 181 
miles of additional track by the purchase of the Scioto Valley railroad, which 
penetrates the richest portion of the great state of Ohio, and at Columbus 
connects with railroads diverging to every point of the compass. 

The value of this purchase to Norfolk is equal to the securing of an inde- 
pendent line, and her interest in the Shenandoah Valley road is of great 
consequence also. With this may be mentioned the extension of the Sea- 
board Air Line to Atlanta, and the chartering of several new roads, among 
them the Virginia, Missouri and Pacific, which is the proposed air line be- 
tween Norfolk and the Golden Gate. 

By a special act of Congress Hampton Roads has been designated as 

THE NAVAL RENDEZVOUS OF THE WORLD 

on the occasion of the World's Fair at Chicago, which means that all the 
navies of the world will be represented there. The meeting of those ships 
will be one of the grand historical events of the world, and preparations are 
being made commensurate with its dignity. 



44 

DELIGHTFUL SURROUNDINGS. 

There is not, perhaps, a city ia America that can boast of more delightful 
surroundings than Norfolk. The points of interest and of beauty around the 
harbor have established its fame as a summer and winter resort. The breezes 
from the open sea provide a refreshing coolness from the summer heat, and 
the tempei-ate mildness of Virginia offers a retreat from the freezing condi- 
tion of a Northern climate Norfolk will be a city of 100,000 people in 
seven years. 

Ships for the United States}Navy are being built at Norfolk, and it can 
boast of 

THE FINEST DRY DOCK, 

not excepting California, in the United States. The steamers City of Paris 
and Teutonic, the greyhounds of the Atlantic, use Pocahontas coal, which is 
shipped from the port of Norfolk. The scenes of the battle between the Mer- 
rimac and Monitor, which was fought in Hampton Roads, is almost within 
sight of the city, and is pointed out as you are borne in magnificent steamers 
to points of interest in the harbor. For a charge of fifty cents a beautiful 
steamer will convey you from the city to Fortress Monroe, whose bristling 
cannons protect ihe entrance to the harbor. Close to the Fort is the Hygeia 
Hotel, the grandest institution of the kind in the world. The harbor of Nor- 
folk could afford shelter to all the shipping of the world, and place at their 
disposal twenty-eight feet of water at low tide. 

In this review of this interesting city many items of interest and of public 
worth are left unnoticed and undescribed. The city is lighted by electricity 
and gas ; schools and churches are so situated as.to show that religion and edu- 
cation go hand in hand for the general good. The street car system is found 
to be insufficient for the new growth of the city, and more than one company 
to construct an electric car system has been incorporated. The future will 
see in this country a great ship building boom, and Norfolk will certainly take 
a lead as a ship building port. There are being completed here now large 
steel cruisers for the Navy. 



A BEI.T I.I1SE AROrXD THE CITY. 



From the Cornucopia. 
It is generally well known that the facilities enjoyed by this seaport (Nor- 
folk) for the quick and cheap transferring and handling of all kinds of freight 
are simply unrivalled in the United States. There is no other seaport in the 
Union where the ocean steamers and the many lines of rail are so closely and 
advantageously connected as here. Notwithstanding this a move is now on 
foot to add very materially to these advantages. This move is the "Belt 
Line," so called because it will "belt" or girdle the cities of Portsmouth, 
Berkley and Norfolk, and closely connect five of the great lines of rail terr 
minuting on deep ^^^ater in this grand tiarbor, This ^'PeU Line" will closely 



45 

connect and secure harmonious and pleasant traffic relations between the fol- 
lowing railroads, viz. : "The Norfolk and Western," "Norfolk and Carolina," 
"Norfolk and Southern," " Seaboard and Roanoke," and " Atlantic and Dan- 
ville." As soon as the Virginia Beach Railroad is changed from a narrow to 
standard guage, it will then include that liae, making six lines of rail to be 
benefitted by this "Belt Line." The first two named roads are the ones act- 
ively engaged in pushing this splendid enterprise. As stated above, it is to 
belt the cities on this harbor with a line of steel, just outside the present 
limits of these cities. It opens up 'a fine stretch of country and brings into 
market some fine bodies of land, situated admirably for all kinds of manufac- 
turing purposes, as well as for additions to the cities above named. The 
finest sites for factories can be secured on this "Belt Line," as a factory lo- 
cated on the " Belt Line " is practically on all the above-named lines six lines 
of road connected by the said " Belt Line." 



^^AGBS A^D SAI^ARIHS. 



For the purpose of answering^ those who desire to know rates of 
pay to the employed, we give below such figures as may be consid- 
ered a fair average of prevailing prices at the present date : 



Class op Labor 



Brick layers 

Book binders 

Bookkeepers 

Blacksmiths 

Carpenters 

Cotton screwmen 

Cooks and laundriers 

Day laborers^ white and colored 

Hod Carriers 

Hotel Waiters 

'Longshoremen 

Machinists 

Moulders , 

Nurses 

Plasterers 

Painters . , 

Printers 

Pressmen 

Porters 

Sailors— on sailing vessels 

" " steamers 

" " tugs 

Ship carpenters ... 

Street car drivers 

'* " conductors 

Tinners 

Truckmen and drivers . 

Tailors , 



Hours 
Employed 



53 per week 
58 per week 

10 per day 

53 per week 

54 per week 

10 per day 

8 per day 

9 per day 

10 per day 
10 per day 

8 per day 
53 per week 
58 per week 
58 per week 

9 per day 



9 per day 



10 per day 
10 per day 
10 per day 



Wages Paid 



P 4.00 per day 
9.00 to 15.00 per week 
50.00 to 150.00 per m'nth 
12.00 to 15.00 per week 
2.00 to 3.00 per day 
4.00 to 5.00 per day 
6.00 to 8.00 per month 
1.00 to 1.25 per day 
1.75 per day 

12.00 to 15.00 per month 
1.50 to 2.00 per day 
15.00 to 23.00 per week 
12 00 to 18.00 per week 
6.00 to 8.00 per month 
2.50 to 3.50 per day 
150 to 2.50 per day 
15.00 per week 
5.00 to 18.00 per week 
12.00 to 15.00 per month 
15.00 to 25.00 per month 
15.00 to 25.00 per month 
15.00 to 25 00 per month 
2.50 per day 
9.00 to 12.00 per week 
9.00 to 12.00 per week 
1.75 to 2.50 per day 
1.25 per day 
18.00 per week 



Von HEIMERT & CO., 

IMORROLK, VA. ROAIMOKE, VA. 

Bond and Stock Brokers 



Virginia Investment Securities Bought and Sold. 

Orders executed for the purchase and sale of Stocks 
and Bonds on the New York, Boston and Philadelphia 
Stock Exchanges; also for purchases on margin. 

Commercial paper negotiated. 



Correspondents of: — 

Messrs. Blake, Boissevain & Co., London. 
" Adolph Boissevain & Co., Amsterdam. 
" Von Hemert & Higgins, Paris. 



J. P. FindPe ]Wottu, H. M- EaPle, 

Norfolk, Va., — and^ Washington, D.C, 

Chamber lai7ie Building, | 140^ F Street^ N. W. 

Cor. Granby & Plume Sis. 



t^eal Estate Investment and 
Insat^ance Broker^s. 



Negotiate loans on first-class security. 

This combined connection affords special induce- 
ments to those either seeking or offering good invest- 
ments in both Norfolk, Va., and Washington, D. C. 



— AGENTS FOR — 



The Netherlands- American Steam Navigation Co. — To Holland. 
Compagnie Generale Transatlantique. — To France. 



bARTON MYERS. ^- M. KILlAM- 

MYERS Sd CO., 

ESTABLISHED 1786. 

^iREAL ESTATE,!^ 

NORFOI.K, VA, 
corresroimdeimoe: solicited. 

Information and statistics furnished with regard to investments in Kor- 
folk Real Estate and Stocks, and investments made on orders from outside 
parties. 

Headquarters for North Carolina Pine. 
The Tunis Lumber Co. 

NORFOLK, VA., and BALTIMORE, MD. 
BAND AND GANG SAWED LUMBER. 

Ten Million Feet Under Cover. 

T. F. ROGERS, 
ResI Elst3te Broker, 

Columbia Building, Granby St., NORFOLK, VA. 

CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED AND PROMPTLY ANSWERED. 



References : — Citizens Bank and Burrusa, Son & Co., Norfolk, Va. 

fieixx Atlantic Ho^^U 

r>(ORFOI.K, VA. 

I^. 5. Dodsop, propr. I^. f\. Dodsoi^, (T\a[)a<^qr. 



Rates, $2.50, I3.00, $3.50 and $4.00 Per Day. 

The especial attention of Tourists and Invalids is called to the fine cli- 
mate of Norfolk, and the accommodations afforded by the New Atlantic. 



= IiOTS FOH SflLiE IH THE 



diifiBMi^BiSib^^Sai 



Town of Lambert's Point 

Adjoining the City of Norfolk. Ocean Terminus of the 
N. & W. R. R. System. 

The large reservation of the Korfolk & "Western Railroad adjoins the north- 
west boundary of the city of Norfoll?. Immediately north of this grand 
railroad teraiinns, the Lambert's Point Company and the Lambert's Point 
Land Company have purchased one hundred and sixty five acres of high and 
well-drained land, situated on the Elizabeth river, and have laid out in rec- 
tangular blocks the most beautiful and attractive town site in Eastern Vir- 
ginia. The streets are to be lighted by electricity. The town is now 
connected with the business part of Norfolk and Portsmouth by a steam 
ferry, and a street railway is to be constructed from the terminus of the city 
railway to the town of Lambert's Point as soon as possible. Pocahontas 
•avenue, 80 feet wide, extends from the Bowden's Ferry Poad through the 
town and through a portion of the yard of the Norfolk and Western Rail- 
road to the Elizabeth river. The lots are 25x125 feet, and afford unrivalled 
sites for suburban residences. Lambert's Point road, 60 feet wide, divides the 
town from the railroad reservation. Shenandoah, Rappahannock and Po- 
tomac streets, 60 feet wide, with lots 25x125 feet and 25x100 feet, afford 
opportunities for mechanics, clerks and artisans employed by the Railroad 
Company in its offices, warehouses and shops, and by other large industries 
to be erected within the limits of the town, to secure pleasant and convenient 
homes at moderate prices. The ocean terminus of the Norfolk & Western 
system will make Lambert's Point the busiest commercial centre in the 
Southern States, and will alone give employment to enough inhabitants to 
make every lot in the new town of great intrinsic value, independent of the 
other industries which are contemplated by the two companies in their man- 
ufacturing reservations. 

There is now shipped from the Lambert's Point coal piers about 150,000 
tons of Pocahontas coal per month, and within the year ending December 
81st, 1892, 484 foreign steamships have called at this pier for coals. 

Large quantities of iron ore are shipped from Lambert's Point. 

The Norfolk & Western Railroad Company has filled in some thirty acres 
of its water front, and constructed two of the largest merchandise ware- 
houses in the South for accommodating its coastwise and foreign business. 
These wharves, like those of the coal piers, can accommodate the largest 
steamships afloat, having 26 feet of water at low tide. 

The machine shops of the Eastern Division of this great railroad system 
are situated on the street which separates the railroad property from the town 
of Lambert's Point, and will steadily employ a large number of skilled 
machinists. 

The deep water terminus of the Belt line, which will shortly be commenced, 
to connect all the railroad systems coming to this harbor, will be at Lam- 
bert's Point ; and manufacturers in the town of Lambert's Point will be 
enabled to receive through bills of lading from any of the roads, so as to 
ship to any part of the continent by rail, while enjoying the facilitv oi water 
carriage to all parts of the globe. 

Lots are now offered for sale at from $250 to $300, according to size and 
location, and no safer and more desirable investment in land could be made 
in Virginia. 

For particulars, call on or address 

ROBERT \A/. UAIVIB. 

36 Main Street, Norfolk. Virginia. 



The Hopfolk fJational Sank, 

(Organized August 1st, 188S.) 

UIMIXED STATES DEPOSITARY. 



OARITAIv, S400.000.00. 

SURPLUS and PROKITS, - $153,8 11.80. 

C. G. RAMSAY, C, W. GRANDY, CALDWELL HARDY, 

President. Vice-President. Cashier, 

With well established connections, this Bank has unsurpassed 
facilities in every branch of legitimate Banking:. 

ORGANIZED 1867. 

THE CITIZENS' BANK 

OF ISORFOlvK, Vff. 
WM. H. PETERS, President. WALTER H. DOYLE, Cashier. 

Qapital, $300,000. 5^rp'^5' $100^,000. 

THIS BANK OFFERS ITS SERVICES FOR THE TRANSACTION" OF 
ALL BRANCHES OF LEGITIMATE BANKING. 

DiRECTOKS :— Wm. H. Peters, W. Chas. Hardy, J. W. Perry, C. A. Wood- 
ard, Geo. 0. Reid, Jno. N. Vaughan, G-. M. Serpell, J. G-. Womble, 
Howard N. Johnson, McD. L. Wrenn, Walter H. Doyle. 

MARINE BANK, 

IS/laln, Corner Bank: St., IMORROLK, VA. 

Capital, - - - $110,000. 
Surplus & Undivided Profits, $110,000. 

V^. H. TAYLOR, President. 

DIRECTORS -.—Charles Reid, Thos. Tabb, J. T. Borum, L. Harman- 
soN, M. L. T. Davis, B. P. Loyall, Washington Taylor 
AND W. H. Taylor. 

The EqilitatilB Life BssHrancB SoBietii 

OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The Larpsl, Strongest k Best Life flssilrance Gorap'y in the World. 

A. MYERS. Manager for Eastern Virginia and North Carolina, 

61 Commerce St., Norfolk, Va. 

A. MYERS & CO., Real Estate Agts. & Auctioneers. 
61 COMMERCE ST., NORFOLK, VA. 



WEUCH ^ KEVHOliDS, 

Real Estate and Investments, 

i8 GRANBY ST., NORFOLK, VA. 



Buy and sell city and water front properties of every character. 

Careful Investments made for out of town parties. Coal and 

Iron properties of Virginia and West Virginia a 

specialty. Correspondence solicited. 

HOMHRD St ODEND'HHL. 

Manufacturers & Wholesale Dealers In 

FURNITURE, CROCKERY, GLASSWARE, STOVES & LAMP GOODS 

22 & 24 Market Sqr,, NORFOLK, VA. 

(Successors to LEIGH BROS. & PHELPS,) 

Real E^state Brokers, 

City and Country Property for Sale. Correspondence Solicited. 

57 MAIN STREET, NORFOLK, VA. 

Portsinoiltti Transfer Gonipani[, 

Recognized by the various Railroad and Steamboat Lines. 
Office, 77 Main Street, . A. B. CAMP, Superintendent. 

JOHN VERMILLION, 

IMo. <4 GramkDy Strost, ISIORROL-K, VA. 

Whiskies, Brandies, Rum and Gin, Champagnes, Madeira, Sherries, 

Port, Clarets and Sauterne. 

Fine Stock Imported and Domestic Cigars, and Leading Brands of Cigarettes. 

Agent for Poland and other Popular Mineral Waters. 

WASHINGTON TAYLOR & CO. 

WHOLESALE GROCERS, 

KOEN-rs Fo« NORFOLK, VA. 

HAZARD POWDER. 




KNONA/l 



Patent Sewer Cleaner. 



The necessity for good and efficient sewerage as a sanitary measure is now- 
attracting the attention of sanitarians and city authorities in all parts of the 
world. 

To the putrid grease and other offensive matter that adheres to the pipes» 
may be directly traced the source of terrible epidemics which have scourged 
the thickly settled districts of otherwise healthy localities. 

For the speedy and effectual removal of these disease bearing germs, the 
Knowles' Patent Cleaner will accomplish it in a few minutes, and a little 
attention given the appliance (easily understood by any one,) the pipes can be 
thoroughly cleaned, and kept so for an indefinite time. 

THE CITY COUNCILS OP NOBFOLK 

authorized the Board of Street, Sewer, and Drain Commissioners, with the 
City Engineer to examine into, and test the merits of the Knowles Sewer 
Cleaner for city use, and the following report of the City Engineer, resulted 
in the purchase of the right, and the following endorsement speaks for itself. 

liEPORT OF W. T. BROOKE, CITY ENGINEER. 

October 13th 1891. — "In order to try Mr. Knowles' patent I selected York 
Street extended line, on which the grades are rather flat; the pipe line a six 
inch one, and where we had more than ordinary trouble from the accumula- 
tion of grease, which at this point occasioned frequent stoppages, not only of 
the sewer itself, but of the houses connected also. 

To clean out this line required the digging of holes in the street whenever 
it became stopped, in order to get a rope through the pipes for the purpose of 
cleaning them, and the frequency of the stoppage, has rendered this the most 
troublesome lateral in the whole of our sewerage, and the one causing the 
greatest expense in putting in order. Since Mr, Knowles put in his device 
about a year since, we have not had occasion to disturb the street once, and the 
opening of the line from stoppage has never required anything but the re- 
moval of the man-hole plates and the agitation of the device, permanently in 
the pipes. The saving in expense on this street has been a marked one, and 
I would unhesitatingly recommend, wherever we have similar trouble, that the 
appliance be used. 

Mr. Knowles also has a modification of his device for house connections, 
which in my opinion, is a good thing and will enable any householder ha,ving 
it to free his connections from stoppage easily and unexpensively. I have no 
doubt but that this will be gradually adopted by our citizens where stoppages 
in their lines occur." 

The Knowles' sewer cleaner has not only been adopted for the city's street 
sewers, but is at this writing (April 1893) in daily use in all the Public Schools* 
Colleges, and Hospitals, and attached to 502 private dwellings. 

There is no further necessity for going down into man-holes to clean the 
sewers, it is done from the surface, and is equally efi*ectual for all sewers large 
or small. 



No digging up of streets, alley-ways or yards to clear sewers, or house cob- 
nections after the Knowles' cleaner, has been once attached. 

The right to use by any city government, which has sewerage, and to plumb- 
ers for house connections, is for sale, and full particulars may be had by ad- 
dressing 

D. KNOWLES, 

No. 15 Brewer Street, 

Norfolk, Va. 

Hundreds of references to our best known citizins who have it in use will be 
given to those interested, and explanatory circulars sent by mail. 

PARKE L. POINDBXTBR, 

REAL ESTATE, 

Room 6, Lowenber^j Building, - NORFOLK, VA: 



Gives Special Attention to the Promotion and Development 
of all Kinds of Manufacturing Industries. 

PRICE, REID S CO., 

Cotton Exchange Building, NORFOLK, VA. 

COTTON B0.S1P88 IN ILL ITS BRUNCHES. 

^iSTEHMSHIP HGENTS.I^ 



Do general business in ocean freights ; furnish interior railroad 
agents and all shippers with weekly circular of freight rates, sailings 
and ports of destination upon request. 

Reasonable advances made upon logs and lumber consigned to 
our correspohdents in Europe. 

Correspondence solicited with ship owners, brokers and ex- 
porters. Through bills of lading issued. 

E. B. MERRITT.V HORACE HARDY, 

Manager Shipping Dept. Gen' I Manager and Attorney^ 



F. 



A 



February 3 
March... 1 

April 4 

May 3 

June 3 

July 6 

August ..10 
Sept'mU'rlO 
October . 8 
Nov'mb'r 7 
Decemb'r 4 

Total.. 73 



3,400 


44 


7,709 


43 


2,804 


39 


656 


40 


2,274 


29 


8,082 


36 


11,551 


28 


9,803 


38 


6,926 


46 


7,559 


49 


4,407 


64 



59,024 
56,760 
50,922 
53,850 
37,99t) 
37,073 
37,861 
46,836 
67,473 
74,866 
90,867 



73,316 



491 



675,986 






i 

;t 
re 

Cc 

L£ 

Lc 
Cc 
W 

Mil 



COAL SHIPMENTS. 

During the year ended December 31st., 
1893, the coal movement at Lambert's 
Point, as shown by clearances made by 
Wm. Lamb & Co., amounted to 1,774,040^ 
tons, as follows, 

January 98,659>$ 

February 128,491 

March 157,151^ 

April 178,081 

May 186,194;^ 

June; 139,865>^ 

July 140,991>^ 

August .-.. - 139,105>s 

September 134,930 

October 176,056 

November...-. 143,878 

December - 133,036 



J 



Total 1,774,040X 

The value of coal at $3 a ton amounts 
to $5,332,120 ; a handsome sum. 

During the year 1,945 vessels carried 
coal from the pier as follows: Steam- 
ships, 491; ocean tugs and barges, 753; 
schooners, &c., 701. 

NORFOLK'S COTTON BUSINESS. 

The cotton receipts at Norfolk show a 
handsome increase over those of the pre- 
ceding calendar year : 

Bales. 

Net receipts at Norfolk, 13 months end- 
ing December 30th, 1893 457,040 

Net receipts, 12 months ending Decem- 
ber 31st, 1892 345.709 



111,332 



20,851 



K'anroaa ufes; ivi 

HAY, GRAIN, ETC. 

Hay, tons • i nc? ss^ 

Corn, bushels ^Sst 

Oats, bushels oVc^i 

Rice, bushels -AlrAk 

V7heat, bushels. .... . .. oi/^ 



Peanuts, bags. 

GROCERIES, PROVISIONS, ETC. 



T crease of receipts in 12 months. 
Equjaled to a gain of 32J per cent. 

1 CLEARING HOUSE RECEIPTS. 

T^ie receipts of the Clearing House, as 
f€!pc,Tted by Mr. Caldwell Hardy, super 
inteipdent, at Norfolk National Bank 
weri^ as follows: 

5®?^ipts $49,091,728 

Balance 7,330,058 

Durijng the year 1892 the receipts 

^^%e 50,620,725 

lial^ce 7.156,052 

I REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS. 

The real estate transfers for 1893 were 
*s Allows : 

City' of Norfolk $2,099,040 

^,"y of Portsmouth ... 467,070 

i>( oriQi^ county , sirvi sok 

$37,981; showing a gain for 1893 of 
171,976.00. 



374,516 



13,250 
60,053 
11,443 
24,549 
24,927 



Coffee, bags 

Sugar, barrels 

Molasses, barrels ... 

Cheese, boxes. - 

Butter, tubs oo^ kir 

Flour, barrels io^^t^ 

Flour, bags Vw\\ 

Pork, barrels ^f^ 

Fish, barrels and boxes 3c^^ 

Bulk meat, pounds ' '5^m 

Meat, tierces *01 

Meat barrels ^VT^^^ 

Meat, boxes ^d,U5i 

LARD. 



Tierces . 
Cases... 
Tubs.... 



6,994 
20,823 
34,637 



2,071 

3,060 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

DEEDS RECORDED. 

No. of deeds recorded in clerk's office, 
1892 

No. of deeds recorded in clerk's office, 
1893 

BUILDINGS ERECTED WITH ESTIMATED VALUE. 

No. of buildings erected in 1892. 465; ■ 

value $b»7,oUL 

No.J of buildings erected in 1893, 211; 

^yalue 500,000 

The above are divided as follows : 
Norfolk city, four old wards^ 124. > . . . .$300,0:,C 
Norfolk city, Brambleton Ward, 62 . . . 100,00( 
Norfolk city, Atlantic City Ward, 25.... i00,0l( 

Total $500,00( 

ASSESSED VALUE OF PROPERTY IN NORFOLK 

Real estate, 1893 $19,441,35( 



Personal property, 1893. 
Total. 



3,340,93J 



.. $22,782,27J 

ASSESSED VALUE IN 1892. 

Real estate $18,942,60( 

Personal property 2,369,09( 

Total $21,311,691 

Gain in 1893 1,470,581 

FERTILIZERS, ESTIMATED VALUE. 

Fertilizers manufactured and sold 
at Norfolk, Va., 189.3, 36,500 tons; 
value $ 912,50( 

Manufactured at other ports and 
distributed through Norfolk, 14,700 
tons; value 295,001 

Fertilizer materials, imported direct 
to Norfolk, 4,500 tons; value 90,001 

Total value $1,297,50( 



VESSELS ENTERED AND CLEARED, 1893. 



Entered. 
January.. 8 



Tonnage. Cleared. Tonnage. 
. 8,145 43 62.455 



onr Coat Trade. 

Exports of coal from January 1, 1894, t( 
January 11, 1894, inclusive, as] cleare( 
by William Lamb & Co., Agents : 

cles as elsewhere compared is as follows : 

LUMBER, LOGS, ETC 

Lumber, feet ??I'SSJ 

Logs,feet "f'?M^ 

Staves, M J'§«f'?S 

Shingles, M ^^'^Sl.lOS 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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